The Muffin Of My Eye
by Shadow Wolfboy
Summary: Derpy shook her head and wiped her eyes, getting up and headed back to the kitchen to finish up her now-cold tea, looking out the window and hoped for a miracle that one day, she could find true love, and a proper father for Dinky. Changed to M for a bit of descriptive nightmare sequence in chapter 8 and a bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here is the very first chapter to my 'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' fan fiction. I hope that the start is good so far and I will update as often as I can. It may be a little bit before the next chapter, because I've just gotten hired at my very first job and of course that will take time out of my writing, so without further ado…**

Dinky smiled widely at her 'Sister', Amethyst Star as they got up from crashing into each other, the young Unicorn spat out a few leaves from her mouth as she scraped her tongue, giggling despite the taste in her mouth. Her 'sister' helped her up and brushed a few more of the leaves out of her mane and patted her cheek with a hoof.

"You alright? Sorry, I didn't see where I was going." Amethyst smiled gently, and Dinky affectionately nuzzled her.

"It's ok. I forgive you. See you after school!" the young Unicorn giggled, trotting off toward the school as the bell rang to end recess. As she passed three fillies whose names had eluded her, they burst into a fit of giggles, but Dinky ignored them. She knew what they were laughing about, and Dinky honestly didn't care.

She sat down at her usual desk in Miss Cheerilee's classroom, third seat on the second row and right behind Applebloom. As class started, Dinky brought out her notebook and began jotting down a few notes as Miss Cheerilee started to continue the lesson that she was teaching for the day. Today they were learning about-

PLOP!

A small folded up note landed right in the middle of her notebook, she looked around to see where it came from, no one looked back at her to signal that they had thrown the note. Dinky waited til Miss Cheerilee had her back turned as she explained a specific point and then quickly unfolded the note:

_'The Father's Day Festival is coming up real soon, it'll be nice to see... oh wait... You_ don't_ have a father, only a dumb cross-eyed mother! Seriously, you're a bucking bastard, 'cuz you don't know your Dad. It's your Mom's fault and she was so stupid that she couldn't even keep him around, and he feared you'd be the same, that's why he isn't around. You're just a mistake from Ponyville's Ditz._

_That's all you are..._

A bastard from the Ditz of Ponyville'

Dinky bit her lip, she was used to people picking on her mother, she had learned long ago to brush it off, but this was entirely new. No one had ever commented on the fact that she didn't have a father. The young unicorn started crying, slamming her notebook shut and shoved it into her saddlebag, pulling it onto her back as she stood up and ran out of the room as fast as her hooves could carry her, leaving the note on her desk, sobbing loudly.

"Dinky!" Miss Cheerilee called after her, shocked and startled at the way she had left.

She made her way up to Dinky's desk, reading the note and then her expression grew stern. She went back up to the front of the class and placed the note on her desk, turning around and looked at her students with a serious expression and many fillies and colts shrank at her burning gaze. "Alright, who gave Dinky the note?"

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><p>I-I need to get home! Dinky thought, running through Ponyville, half-blinded with unspilt tears.<p>

She blinked them away, then let out an 'Oof!' as she slammed into somepony. As she fell back, she shook her head as she wiped her eyes again, sniffing. "I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

"Now hold on there, sugarcube..." the deep kindly voice of Big Mcintosh sounded and she looked up to see him offering a hoof-up, a basket of muffins in his left flank saddlebag. Grateful, she took it and struggled to keep calm. "...What seems to be the problem?"

Dinky took a deep, shuddering breath. "C-Can we... talk?" She looked up at him hopefully, trying her best to chin-up, but was failing miserably.

"'Course... Come with me." Big Mcintosh nodded, leading her over to the park and toward the same spot where Dinky could've sworn was where the Cutie Mark Crusaders had attempted to get him and Miss Cheerilee together. "Now..." Big Mac took a seat and offered her a fresh muffin, which smelled strongly of cinammon and apples, Dinky accepted it with a grateful smile and took a bite out of it. The warm sensation of the muffin sliding down into her tummy started to make her feel a little bit better. "Wha's the problem, Dinky?"

"...H-How do you do it?" Dinky looked up at him with a sad expression, when Big Mac raised a brow, she added. "Live without a Dad...?"

Big Mac sighed heavily. "...Ah'll admit... at first, it wasn' easy. But... after a while, Ah got used to it. Mostly 'cuz Ah'm like a father to my sisters." Big Mac smiled warmly at the young unicorn as she finished her muffin. "...Ah know you... well... it's just you and your mother, but what made you ask me that?"

"...Somepony wrote me a nasty note today, I ran from class." Dinky sniffed, wiping her eyes as tears threatened to spill again. "T-They said I was a mistake... That my Daddy thought I'd... I'd end up like my Mommy. T-They called me a 'Bastard from the Ditz from Ponyville'. D-Don't get me wrong, I love her very much, and I would never change anything about her, I love her just the way she is. But... I... I want a family. I-I want a Daddy, Big Mac..." She broke down crying again, and the stallion slowly brought her close to him, rubbing her small back soothingly as he comforted her.

"...Ah understand. Ah'm sorry that happened to you. Don't worry, Ah'm sure Miss Cheerilee will set things right and give the fillies or colts who did this to you a mighty big what-for." Big Mac smiled at her, tilting her head up to face him. "Trust me, Sugarcube, no matter what, Ah'll always be here for you. And so will my family. All of us, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, my family... all of Ponyville love you and your mother, sugarcube. You are not alone, everyone sticks together, despite their differences. Some of the foals just don't appreciate you two for being who you are."

Dinky smiled brightly, wiping her eyes. "T-Thank you, Big Mac."

"Tell you what..." Big Mac's smile grew. "Ah'll walk you home."

Dinky nodded. "A-Alright, thank you again."

"No problem." Big Mac nodded, pulling his saddelbag on again and after Dinky composed herself and gathered her saddlebag, they started off toward Dinky and Derpy's house, silence falling between them once again. Dinky trained her eyes to the ground as they walked, unsure of what else to say, and Big Mac let her be, afraid to upset her again by asking anything else.

After a bit of walking, they arrived at Dinky's home, which was a simple two story house with a tree growing out of the side of it, giving an area for a tree-house of which Derpy and the Mane Six had made for Dinky two Christmas' ago. As they stepped up to the porch, Big Mac slid off his saddlebags and placed the basket next to the young unicorn, pulling his saddlebag onto his back again.

"You can have these." Big Mac smiled gently. "A gift for you and your Mom."

Dinky smiled widely. "T-Thank you, Big Mac. This means a lot to me, and thanks for talking to me." She took the handle in her teeth, attempting to lift it, but it stayed firmly where it was. "Um... could I get you to take these in for me, please?" She giggled, embarrassed.

"Eeyup." Big Mac nodded, taking the basket into own his teeth, lifting it effortlessly. "Ladies first." He motioned with a hoof and Dinky led him inside, where Derpy was busy sipping tea from a muffin-shaped mug, looking up from the day's paper, surprised to see the two of them.

"Dinky, aren't you supposed to be in school?" Derpy asked, frowning then directed her attention to the stallion, smiling a bit and was genuinely surprised to see him. "And... Hello, Big Mac."

"These muffins are for you and Dinky. Don' worry, Ah'm much obliged to give them away." Big Mac set the basket of muffins down on the table, smiling a bit. "And Ah can vouch for Dinky. But... could Ah speak to you in private, Miss Derpy?"

"Thank you, Big Mac...And of course." Derpy nodded, eyeing the muffins with hunger, but she pushed that feeling aside and accompanied Big Mac toward the porch, giving a little nuzzle to Dinky. "Love you, my little filly muffin."

"Love you too, Mommy." Dinky smiled and sat at the table, starting on another muffin.

About thirty minutes passed and Dinky started to wonder if her mother would ever come back inside, after about fifteen more minutes and three muffins, Dinky was relieved to see her mother coming back into the house. She walked straight up to Dinky and nuzzled her again, giving her small kisses on her cheeks and forehead.

"Listen... Dinky..." Derpy sat down in front of her daughter, holding her face gently in her hooves and looked deeply into her eyes. "You are NOT a mistake, filly muffin. You are by far the best thing to ever happen to me, I want you to know that. But..." She bit her lip, and continued. "Your father isn't good enough for you. I...I can't tell you the entire story, but I will tell you when you're old enough to understand, I promise. What I do want you to understand now, is that you're my daughter and I love you very much, and always will. You are my pride and joy, you will always be my Muffin, Dinky." Derpy cooed softly and nuzzled her daughter again, to which Dinky returned.

"O-Okay, Mommy. I love you." Dinky hugged her close, to which Derpy returned, whispering her motherly love back. "B-But..."

"Yes, sweetie?" Derpy wiped the tears from her daughter's cheeks as they began to form again.

"..." Dinky went silent again, looking at the ground, then looked up into her mother's eyes. "...W-What do I do for the Father's Day Festival? E-Every year... I see everypony walking around with their Daddys and I... and I..."

It was no use, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Dinky broke down crying, sobbing into the crook of her mother's neck, and all Derpy could do was whisper soothing words to her and gently stroke her back with a hoof as she tried to calm her daughter. "I get jealous because I don't have a Daddy! H-He didn't even care about us!" Derpy did not know what to say while Dinky continued her rant about her biological father. "H-He... He only cared about himself, right Mommy? I... I-I hate him! W-Whoever my real... D-Daddy is! I hate him! He didn't even want to have a family! He left us both alone!" The young pegasus curled up into her mothers embrace and continued to sob years of pent-up sorrow being surpressed until this moment.

For a long while, Dinky continued to cry, and Derpy let her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop her and knew that Dinky would only stop when she was ready to. When her daughter had finally calmed down, her breathing becoming slow and deep, she decided to speak again.

"Sweetie, listen... how about we-" Derpy cut herself off as she heard soft snoring and looked down, realizing her poor daughter had cried herself to sleep. Derpy gently lifted her daughter up onto her back and took flight, gracefully flying up the stairs and up to Dinky's room, laying her down on her soft bed. The pegasus sighed softly, gazing at the sleeping form of her daughter.

"...Someday... you will have a new Daddy, I promise filly Muffin." Leaning down, she placed a kiss on Dinky's forehead and proceeded to tuck her into bed, smiling as her daughter snuggled into her covers and let out a small sigh of relaxation. After watching for a few more moments, Derpy turned and walked out of her room, looking at the floor as she walked to her own bedroom.

She sat down on her side, as she always slept on the left and looked at the other end of her large and, she bit her lip, half empty king sized bed. Running a hoof along the right side, she started to let tears of her own fall on the silk sheets as she thought. Oh how she wanted someone to lay next to her at night, to comfort her in the middle of the night after a nightmare, to sleep together in a loving embrace, to cuddle after a long day of work and fall asleep after whispering words of affection and love, to kiss...

Derpy shook her head and wiped her eyes, getting up and headed back to the kitchen to finish up her now-cold tea, looking out the window and hoped for a miracle that one day, she could find true love, and a proper father for Dinky.

**A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter, I honestly hope you all liked it. If you didn't well… please don't flame me in the reviews. If you didn't like it, then don't review. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, first of all, thanks to all of you who reviewed for the last chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, inspiration for writing the chap came in spurts, but I got it done. :) And updates MAY be slow, depending on my work schedule.**

**Also, the story behind Dinky's father will be based off of a comic called 'Dash Academy' by SocerusHorserus on DeviantArt. I don't own the story for Dinky's father, so all credit goes to Socerus. I do however, own this storyline that I'm creating, but I don't own any of the characters but my OC.**

* * *

><p>Derpy let out a sigh as she started brewing another pot of tea when she heard a knock on the door, leaving the tea to heat up, she quickly made her way toward the front door, biting back a small swear when she tripped and stumbled. When she finally reached the door, she drew a silent breath and exhaled after checking herself in the mirror, opening up the door to reveal Amythyst Star.<p>

"Derpy! Cheerilee told me what happened, is Dinky alright?" Amethyst Star asked worriedly, her eyes near wild as she frantically tapped her hooves against the floorboards of the porch. The poor Unicorn appeared as if she would've jumped out of her coat if somepony came up behind her and said 'Boo!'.

"Calm down, Amy. Dinky's just fine, she fell asleep a little bit ago." Derpy said to alleviate her worries, and Amethyst took a deep breath and calmed down. "Come in."

The mare nodded and walked inside when Derpy stepped aside and shut the door behind them. Derpy ran to the kitchen when she heard the tea whistling and lifted it off the stove to keep from waking Dinky and shut the stove off. Amethyst seated herself at the dining room table as the pegasus began to fill two mugs of tea and added two cubes of sugar into Amethyst's cup. Placing them on the table, she seated herself across from Amethyst and slid one mug over to her friend as she began to sip from her muffin shaped one.

"But... this... really did hit hard for me." Derpy admitted. "It made me realize that while yes, Dinky is happy with her life with me, she also wants a father in the picture as well."

She sighed and Amethyst sipped her tea, having heard the story before and did not want to make the subject any worse by bringing that particular memory back up again. Instead she sipped her tea again and cleared her throat.

"Maybe... Derpy, you should probably look to find a coltfriend. You know... somepony who will be a good father for Dinky." Amethyst said slowly so her words could sink in, not wanting to upset her friend.

The pegasus looked down at her tea, swirling it a bit in her mug as she contemplated the idea. But the more she thought about it, the more her insecurities began to arouse and cause her to start to reject the idea. She slowly shook her head and then started to shake harder as the unpleasant memories of her past 'relationship' with Dinky's father went, she squeezed her eyes shut to keep from letting her tears fall, but Amethyst could tell.

"D-Derps... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Amethyst got up and grabbed a tissue, wiping the pegasus' eyes. "It was just a suggestion, I know you're still not ready. I'm sorry, I was just saying is all..."

"I-It's fine... I just..." Derpy wiped her eyes with another tissue her friend supplied. "I've actually done some thinking when I tucked Dinky in earlier. It may take a bit of time, but... I'm willing to give it a shot and try to find a coltfriend." She gave a small smile to her friend. "I may be insecure, but... I'm willing to try, for my daughter."

"And... you?" Amethyst tilted her head. "You know full well that Dinky won't like it if you're dating someone just to make her happy."

"I know. I mean... I just..." Derpy sighed and held her face in her hooves. "Amethyst, I'll need help. I don't... I don't want a repeat of..." She shuddered and tried not to break down crying like her daughter did before her, her friend understood and brought her into a comforting embrace. No words were said, all Amethyst did was hold her close and tight, as if to keep her from breaking. That, more than anything, comforted Derpy quite a bit.

"I'm happy to have friends like you." Derpy smiled widely as Amethyst released her and took a deep breath, exhaling and had now calmed down.

"Friendship is magic." Amethyst chuckled. "And speaking of magic, I heard that Trixie's coming to Ponyville to perform a magic show for the start of the Father's Day festival for next week."

"Dinky's always had a interest for magic." Derpy smiled, a plan forming in her head. "Alright, how about the three of us go to that and we can have a good time?"

"Well, being as how she's a young Unicorn, that makes sense. In terms of her fascination with magic." The mare giggled. "And that sounds like an excellent idea."

"Also, I may go visit Twilight after Dinky wakes up, the visit may cheer her up since she loves spending time over there. And I'll need to talk to Twilight as well." Derpy concluded, and her friend patted her shoulder.

"Excellent." Amethyst smiled, going back to her seat and sipping her warm tea as Derpy got back to hers.

For a while they chatted about other topics, Amethyst mainly started it up to avert her friend's attention away from the other painful subject and Derpy was happy at the gesture, she truely was blessed to have a friend like her. As they talked, Derpy considered having Dinky spend a bit of time with Rainbow Dash, considering that she was part of the 'Rainbow Dash Fanclub' or... however it was named, the true name escaped her. With those thoughts in mind, they continued to chat, ranging from swapping the recipes they've found out since they last talked and other trivia subjects.

It was only that when Derpy noticed that the sun had gone down to the tip of the hills that she realized it was so late and, after a quick check upstairs, she realized her daughter was still asleep. After a few more minutes of talking, Amethyst agreed to stay home just in case she woke up while Derpy went to Twilight's for a few minutes for a talk.

"Thanks again, Amy." Derpy grinned widely, pulling on a traveling cloak for the crisp Autumn air that was signalling the gradual change to winter in the coming months.

"Anytime Derps." Amethyst smiles back, waving a hoof. "Go on, I'll be here when you get back, promise."

"I won't be long, thank you." The pegasus nodded and left the house and as the door shut behind her, she immediately started off toward Twilight's house.

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><p>"The Library is going to close in- Oh, hey Derpy."<p>

"Hello Spike." The pegasus smiled sweetly at the tiny purple dragon. "Is Twilight around or is she busy at the moment?"

"She had to go to the market to gather some supplies she forgot to put on the first grocery list." Spike replied, chuckling softly as he remembered the alicorn had been freaking out in her usual OCD fashion.

"Oh, okay. Well, please tell her I stopped by. And if she would have some time tomorrow, I would like to talk to her." Derpy scuffed a hoof against the wooden flooring in defeat, sighing softly.

"...Is... there something I can help with?" Spike asked, tilting his head in concern.

"That's really sweet of you, Spike, but it's something that I need to discuss with Twilight. Thank you anyway, you're really kind." Derpy smiled softly and gave him a little nuzzle and a hug, turning and started to head out of the Library after Spike promised to deliver her message. As she left, the pegasus let out a sigh and walked toward the main plaza, noting that most of the residents had started to enter their homes and ending their day inside the warm comfort of their homes with their familes. As she sat on the fountain's edge, the water frozen from the chilly air, she heaved a heavy sigh as thoughts coursed through her.

They were a broken family. Ever since Dinky's father used her... she was certain she would never be able to truly open up to any colt or any stallion, but... if she were to find somepony with a true heart and good intentions, maybe... just maybe... she could make her broken family whole.

"Oh who am I kidding..." She murmured to herself. "Nopony would want someone who looked like I do... and my clumsiness doesn't do anything to help..."

She looked at the ground as she silently cried, letting out her insecurities as she mentally berated herself. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with a hoof and let out a shaky breath.

"Would you like some flowers, Miss?"

Surprised, she looked up and quickly wiped her eyes again, looking into the Stallion's eyes that stood before her. She mustered a small smile.

"Sorry, I don't have any Bits with me at the moment." Derpy replied kindly, mentally cursing her shaky voice.

"I don't charge for bouqets, Miss." The Stallion smiled. "Even if I did, I wouldn't charge such a lovely mare like yourself."

Derpy felt in embarrassment as her face heated up and she tapped her hooves together nervously. "T-T-Thank you..." She said, rivaling Fluttershy at the moment in terms of voice pitch.

The Stallion smiled, closing his eyes as he concentrated, his horn began to glow with a soft blue light. In a small flash of cyan, a bouqet of roses, lilies and daises appeared, wrapped in light pink paper and tied with a scarlet ribbon. "Well well, lucky day for you, Miss. You have just received the special bouqet of the night and have won three free tickets to tomorrows Magic Show."

"...T-Thank you so much, Mr...?" Derpy accepted the flowers with the biggest smile she had given all day, sniffing them as she looked at the newly acquired tickets.

"Star Spark, Madam." The Stallion took a small bow, smilng. "And to whom do I have the pleasure of talking to?"

"...D-Derpy. I'm Derpy Hooves." The pegasus replied, blushing cursing her stutter again.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hooves." Star Spark smiled widely.

"Just Derpy, please." The mare replied.

"Alright, Derpy. Well, I really hate to cut this conversation short, but I must be off. My sister and I were supposed to head to the Inn to rest up for tomorrows show. She's probably already there waiting for me, impatiently as usual." Star Spark offered his hoof to shake with a small chuckle, to which Derpy gladly did. "A pleasure to have met you, Derpy. I hope our paths will cross again."

Before he left, his horn emit his magical aura again as he lifted a rose out of the bouqet and plucked off the thorns with his magic. After cleaning the stem, he nestled the rose in Derpy's hair, right above her ear.

"You're beautiful for being who you are, I don't know why... but I just thought I should tell you that." Star smiled softly as Derpy's cheeks flushed the same shade of red as the rose.

"...I-I'm not used to getting many compliments. T-Thanks again, Star Spark." Derpy stammered again, scuffing her hoof against the dirt shyly.

"Well... expect lots of compliments from me tomorrow night if I manage to spot you." Star smiled warmly as he bid farewell and turned to head toward the local Inn."

With the bouqet secure in her teeth, Derpy began a bliss-blinded trip back toward home. She was practically floating and it was only when she reached the gate to her home that she realized that she had been flying. Flustered, she folded her wings on her back and tried to calm her wired nerves from the encounter. Opening the front door and closing it behind herself, she placed the flowers on the table next to the door as she removed her traveling cloak, putting it on the coathanger. Retrieving the flowers, she walked into the kitchen to get a vase, blushing slightly when Amethyst tilted her head.

"Where'd you get the flowers from?" She asked curiously, getting up from her seat at the dining table, leaving her snack behind as she stood next to Derpy.

"Um... well... there was this Stallion and he offered me some flowers for free." Derpy began, putting the water-filled vase on the counter, placing the flowers inside it.

"Ooooh! Was he cute?" Amethyst grinned, and Derpy knew she was eager for the pegasus to spill the beans.

"Well... Y-Yes, he was quite... c-cute. But I think he already has a mare-friend. Stallions like him are bound to be taken anyway, just my luck." Derpy sighed, shaking her head.

"He must like you if he gave you the flowers for free, Derps." Amethyst pointed out.

Derpy just denied it. "He was probably being friendly and stuff. You know, sales-talk... Oh!"

The Pegasus put the three tickets on the counter with a smile. "He also gave me three free tickets to the Magic Show tomorrow."

"Really?" Amethyst said in disbelief, looking over the tickets and then grinned. "Ooooh, somepony's got a crush on you! I know it!"

"Amy, I'm sure he doesn't and-" Derpy began.

"And what if he does?" The unicorn replied. "Come on, Derps, you have a chance here. See if you can find him tomorrow, ok?"

The Pegasus knew that her friend wouldn't take 'No' for an answer, so she sighed and agreed to it. After checking on Dinky, who was still fast asleep, Derpy and Amethyst talked for a little while longer and then Amethyst bid farewell, tired and left to head back home. Derpy herself, having come down from her bliss-high, was exhausted even though she had finished with work earlier than usual today. She went to her room and laid on her bed, facing the empty side and lay there for a long while just thinking. With a small blush, she imagined Star Spark laying next to her, holding her close and letting her listen to his heartbeat to relax her. Burying her face in her pillow as she relaxed and blushed heavily, she fell into a much more peaceful sleep than the previous night.

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><p>A few hours later, Dinky awoke from a nightmare with a small gasp and tears in her eyes. Wiping them away with her hooves, she got up and headed for her mother's room. Walking through the open door, she climbed into bed next to her mother and snuggled into her side. Derpy roused, still half-asleep and wrapped her left wing protectively around her daughter.<p>

"...The nightmare again?" Her mother asked and Dinky replied by simply burrowing in her left wing, sniffling. So her mother brought her closer and comforted her.

"We're going to the Magic Show tomorrow, filly muffin." Derpy told her daughter, nuzzling her. "A nice Stallion gave me some tickets, so we're going."

"T-Thanks, Mama." Dinky said, closing her eyes and basked in the warmth of her mother.

"...Anything for you, filly muffin." Derpy yawned, snuggling with her daughter and smiled softly as Dinky dozed into a comforting slumber.

**A/N: And that concludes this chapter. Until next time, it will be posted ASAP.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm not even going to give a lame excuse so I'll just shut up and get on with the chapter. Enjoy-**

_CRASH!_

"Oh no!"

That sound and the scent of burnt food woke Derpy up from her slumber as she sat up, sniffing the air and got out of bed, noticing that Dinky wasn't in the room. Nor was she in her own bedroom, so she followed her nose and went downstairs, coughing lightly as the kitchen was slightly smokey. In the midst of the mess on the floor was Dinky. A silver tray that Derpy had recieved long ago from Colgate was on the floor upside down, an orange half and two pieces of bread with jam on them were lying on the floor next to it. Orange juice leaked across the floor from a shattered glass and a bowl of cereal was upturned next to Dinky's right front hoof.

The filly herself was looking up at her with a hurt expression as she braced herself for a bout of yelling. Derpy only very very _very_ rarely yelled, and immediately after whenever she did, she regretted it and coaxed Dinky to forget about the whole thing. Needless to say, yelling was not in Derpy's book of good parenting, she didn't like it and thus almost never yelled. Syrup matted her daughter's right side and flank, dripping from her body as a very burnt waffle was impaled on her horn, butter smeared across her muzzle.

"I-I'm so sorry, Mama..." Dinky started to cry, fearing she was about to get yelled at. "I-I tried to make you breakfast."

She grunted and with visible strain, tried to lift up the tray and the surrounding mess with her unicorn magic. A light blue light emanated from her horn and enveloped the ruined food, it moved a fraction from the floor but immediately fell back to the floor, making an even bigger mess.

"It's ok, sweetie. It's ok." Derpy coaxed her daughter to relax. "It's ok, let Mommy clean this up."

She began cleaning the mess while Dinky sat aside and looked at the floor, knowing even though her mother didn't appear angry, she was still ashamed that she had failed in bringing her breakfast and then failing to clean the mess up with magic.

As Derpy finished cleaning up the mess, she removed the waffle and took a small nibble, smiling softly.

"It's good sweetie. Now let's go get you cleaned up, we're going to meet Amethyst, Rainbow Dash and Twilight at Sugarcube Corner before we start heading to the Magic Show." Derpy smile grew as her daughter's face brightened up at once. Lifting her sticky daughter up onto her back, Derpy flew up the stairs to the bathroom, setting her daughter down on the tiled floor.

As the bath was started, Dinky smiled as her mother poured the bubbles into the bathtub. The pegasus took a wet rag and started to clean the syrup off of her coat and then tossed it into the hamper. When the bath was filled, Derpy put her into the tub and started to gently wash her face, smiling as Dinky spat out a bit of soap, making cute 'blech' noises. The pegasus chuckled as she rinsed her off, kissing the young unicorn's nose as she started to wash the rest of her daughter, after a short scrub, she deemed her clean enough and pulled the plug. Wrapping Dinky in a pink fluffy towel after setting her down onto the floor of the bathroom, she dried her off as much as she could, giggling as her daughter shook herself.

"Alright alright, don't soak the bathroom." Derpy chuckled, wrapping the young unicorn in the towel again, holding her close.

"...Promise that you won't ever leave me, Mommy." Dinky said quietly.

"What would make you say such a- Oh..." Derpy began then cut herself short, remembering the nightmare Dinky had every other night or so. "Dinky, I promise you... nothing in all of Equestria will ever make me leave you. I will never abandon you, filly muffin."

Dinky smiled, happy with her mother's answer and nuzzled her, snuggling close as they held eachother for a long moment. After a few more minutes of basking in their loving embrace, they separated and the pegasus led Dinky to her room, gathering a pink clip-on bow from her daughter's dresser. Derpy brought out a necklace that she had bought for her daughter upon her insistence. Hanging upon a golden chain was a muffin charm, which opened up to have a small photo of them together. As Dinky had commented that she wanted it so she could always have a piece of her mother with her, Derpy was almost brought to tears by that comment. She clipped the bow to Dinky's hair after that as her daughter picked out her favorite pink dress and pulled it on.

After that, Derpy went to her own room and brushed her mane and tail. She retrieved a sapphire bow from her dresser and clipped it to her own hair, smiling at her reflection. Derpy stared at the ribbon that had tied the bouquet of flowers and decided to tie it around her neck. She was starting to see her own beauty, thanks to Star's words from last night. And just because she wanted to look nice in case she ran into Star Spark again, she pulled on a sapphire dress that matched the bow in her mane. When they were both presentable, they left the house and started off toward Sugarcube Corner.

"So... who was the Stallion that gave you flowers?" Dinky asked.

"Uh... You were awake for that?" Derpy asked a bit hesitantly while they walked.

Dinky frowned, rubbing her head. "...I think I may have been half-asleep half-awake. I... I don't know."

"Well... I did get a nice bouqet from a Stallion last night." Derpy admitted honestly, and she noted how Dinky looked up at her, a familiar glint in her eyes.

"So... did he ask you out on a date?" Dink asked, smiling as her hopes were getting up. "Or maybe did he ask you to be his very special Somepony for Hearts and Hooves day next year?"

"D-Dinky, please... I know you want a Daddy, but I don't want to go around asking random Stallions out on dates. I want to get to know somepony first before dating them." Derpy told her daughter, who hung her head with a sad look. "Sweetie, I promise... one day you will have a new, proper Daddy, ok?"

Her daughter nodded half-heartedly and Derpy sighed, hating the fact that she was still insecure about dating. But... well, that Stallion _did_ make her feel special last night, and this morning it _was _the first time in a _long_ time that she looked into the mirror and actually loved her appearance. Maybe, just maybe... she mentally shook her head, she'd think about this later. Mull things over with the girls when she had the time.

"Hey Derps!"

The unicorn and pegasus smiled as Amethyst galloped up to them, smiling widely as she and Dinky exchanged their own version of the special hoof-shake that Derpy had seen Twilight and Cadance doing. Derpy smiled as they finished and Amethyst accompanied them to Sugarcube Corner. As they sat at the table, waiting for Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Mrs. Cake took their orders for drinks.

"So did you sleep ok, Dinky? I came by yesterday, but you slept all day and night." Amethyst asked.

"Yeah, I just... had the nightmare again late last night." Dinky said quietly, thanking Mrs. Cake as she brought their drinks, she sipped on hers quietly.

"Ahem." Amethyst cleared her throat, handing Derpy a napkin. The pegasus was about to use it, until she noticed some writing on it.

'Have you seen the Stallion at all today?' was written on it.

Derpy shook her head and Amethyst just left it at that.

"So... can I have a rainbow cupcake today?" Dinky asked, her eyes brightening as she spotted a delicious one on the counter, her tummy rumbling. Derpy smiled and nodded, ordering it for her and Mrs. Cake brought it to the young Unicorn.

Knowing full well that it would make her daughter feel better, Derpy ordered a second cupcake, smiling as Dinky hugged her mother and then began to devour the cupcake.

"Whoa, she's got quite an appetite today, huh Derpy?" Rainbow Dash and Twilight said, walking up and taking a seat at the small group after entering Sugercube Corner.

"Yeah, she does." Derpy smiled, giggilng softly when Dinky smiled. Her daughter appeared much happier now that the topic from last night had been forgotten, she wiped her daughter's cheeks free of the frosting as Dinky took a drink and started on her second. Derply smiled a bit and gladly accepted the small portion her daughter offered. "That's good, sweetie, I may have to order my own now."

"Hi Auntie Dash." Dinky's teeth were stained with the rainbow frosting of the second cupcake and the group burst into a fit of giggles. Thankfully, she had managed to keep from getting frosting on her dress. Rainbow Dash slid the young unicorn her drink and she gulped down a few and smiled again, her teeth free from the frosting.

"So how are you, Dinky?" Dash asked, chuckling softly.

"I'm ok now, thanks Auntie Dash." Dinky smiled and finished her cupcake, washing down the frosting with her drink as Mrs. Cake came over and took their orders.

"So... Twilight, can I ask a favor?" the young unicorn asked shyly.

"Of course, what do you need, Dinky?" Twilight smiled kindly.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me practice my magic tomorrow?" Dinky asked hopefully, smiling.

"Tomorrow?" Twilight asked, uncertainty in her voice and Dinky's smile faded. "I-I'm sorry, sweetie, but I'm going to go to Canterlot tomorrow. Princess Cadance has requested my help with getting ready for another visit from the Saddle Arabia ambassadors to discuss some royal matters. What about later tonight?"

Dinky looked at her mother. "Would that be ok, Mommy?"

Derpy tapped her chin, then smiled. "I see no harm in it, as long as you have her back at a decent time, ok Twi?"

"Of course." The alicorn princess smiled and with that settled, their orders came and they all started to dig into their food.

* * *

><p><em><strong>-Hours later, as the audience began gathering for the Magic Show-<strong>_

"Well, here's our seats." Dash commented, crossing her fore-hooves as they sat down. "I hope this show is better than the first time she came here."

"Trixie has learned her lesson, Rainbow Dash." Twilight spoke up. "I'm sure she'll be a better show-mare this time."

"Excuse me Miss, is this seat taken?" a familiar voice asked, causing a shiver to run up Derpy's spine.

She looked up, blushing softly as her amber eyes met Star Spark's emerald ones, his slightly dark blue coat glistened in the moonlight. He brushed the bangs of his blue and purple mane out of his eyes as he gazed at the stage for a moment before looking back at the group before him. The pegasus scooted over a bit as Amethyst and Dash grinned, themselves scooting over as Derpy trembled only semi-visibly in her seat. Star Spark smiled kindly and took a seat next to the mare and gave a nod to her friends.

"I'm Star Spark, it's a pleasure to meet you all." He offered a hoof to each of them and shook, noticing that the little filly he shook hooves with only held up for a few seconds longer, looking into his eyes with wonder.

"...I'm Dinky, Star Spark." The young Unicorn said quietly, almost shyly. Derpy cleared her throat and patted her daughter on the head lightly.

"This is my daughter, S-Star Spark." Derpy mentally cursed her stutter that had shown up again and she noted the only slight change in Star's expression as she mentioned 'Daughter'. "These are my friends Rainbow Dash, Amethyst Star, and Twilight Sparkle."

They each gave friendly 'Hello's and kind smiles, to which Star Spark returned. "So how has your day been so far, Derpy?"

"I-It's been just fine." The pegasus smiled shyly.

"That's good. I couldn't stop thinking about you last night. Just seeing that beautiful smile of yours made me smile myself. I'm glad that I was able to bring some happiness to you, as you looked like you could've used some last night." Star spoke with a smile, causing Derpy's cheeks to flush bright red.

"T-Thank you. I greatly appreciated the flowers." Derpy smiled, starting to get comfortable slowly.

"He was the stallion that gave you flowers last night?" Amethyst and Dinky asked in unison.

Derpy nodded, finding sudden interest in her hooves. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Star Spark.

"I'm sorry, I must go." Star spoke up with sudden urgency. "I apologize, but we must catch up some other time, Derpy. After the show perhaps?"

"Y-Yeah, of course." Derpy smiled. "I'd love to."

"And of course, I would love to get to know your friends some more. Farewell for now, Derpy." Star smiled, giving a small bow as he stood up, disappearing in a flash of cyan light.

"Oh! He totally asked you for a date!" Rainbow Dash grinned widely, along with Amethyst.

"H-He merely asked if I wanted to catch up, t-that does not mean he wanted to go out for a date!" Derpy replied, getting more embarrassed by the minute.

The two mares were unable to continue their teasing as the torches intensity reduced to signal that the show was finally starting after all the anticipation. Cheers and whistles sounded as the curtains slowly parted to reveal a mural of a starry night sky with random planets and for a moment, there was nothing but that. After a few moments of confused murmuring amongst the crowd there was a large puff of smoke, followed by sparklers that flew above the crowd, causing the children and children-at-heart alike to let out excited and wondered cries.

"Who's ready for some _magic?!"_ Trixie smiled widely as the smoke cleared to reveal the mare.

The crowd cheered and the show-mare grinned. She produced a table and three buckets, placing a soccorball underneath the middle large bucket, she used her magic to move them around the table in a dizzyingly fast manner and then stopped. Gesturing with a hoof to the buckets, she called on some people to guess. A mare said that it was back in the middle, Trixie removed the bucket and there was nothing there. She called on a young filly and he said the right.

And when Trixie removed the bucket, the soccerball rolled off the table and exploded, releasing rainbow colored birds that chirped excitedly as they took flight causing the crowd to cheer and stamp their hooves in excitement.

The table and two buckets disappeared in Trixie's pink magical aura, however one bucket remained, clattering to the floor still face-down.

"Ah, what's this?" Trixie gasped in mock-surprise as she tried to make the bucket disappear, but her aura dispersed from the container as she tried futiely to rid the stage of the bucket. "What in the name of Equestria...?"

"TA-DA!" Star Spark emerged from under the bucket, performing a hoof stand on his right fore-hoof while his rear leg propped the bucket in the air. He smiled widely as the crowd cheered once more at the act, as Derpy, Dinky and their friends gaped in surprise at the stallion's sudden appearance.

"Ah! Sorry folks, it was just my buffoon of a big brother, Star Spark." Trixie gave a giggle as she gave her brother a hoof-bump, shocking Derpy and her friends even more. "Give him a hoof for his antics, everypony!"

Everypony cheered again while the duo kept performing more and more crazy stunts each seemed even madder than the last, and twice as dangerous. At some points, Derpy herself had to cover her eyes, for fear of seeing Star Spark get hurt. But she always uncovered them due to wanting to see the act, despite her fears. Despite a few close calls, nopony ever got hurt and now Derpy herself was actually wondering how many times they had to practice the stunts to get them exactly right. Everything required exact percision so... she assumed they had to practice to exhaustion, but that was her guess.

"Lastly, we would like to call up a volunteer for this next act." Star Spark announced, smiling as almost everypony's hoof shot up in response. Star searched throughout the crowd, and then noticed one filly's hoof that was almost blotted out by the two slightly taller filly's hooves. "Yes, I would like you, Miss. In the pretty pink dress and bow."

Dinky almost squealed in excitement as she was chosen to be in the next act and leapt from hear seat and hurriedly excused herself past the ponies and toward the stage. She smiled widely and held back the urge to hug Star as he gently pat her head.

"Well, why don't you tell everypony your name, Miss." Star Spark smiled, conjuring up a microphone and used magic to hold it to the young unicorn.

"I'm Dinky Hooves." The young unicorn beamed.

"Alright, Dinky, now we're gonna need you to stand absolutely still, ok?" Trixie smiled softly.

The unicorn nodded and tried her best to remain as still as she could, both Star Spark and Trixie closed their eyes and focused. Their horns started to glow with their respective magical aura, and then the aura enveloped Dinky's body and for a moment Derpy had a surge of panic, but then relaxed a bit when her daughter started to giggle, wiggling a bit but then struggled to remain still. After a few moments, a blinding light erupted from the tips of Star and Trixie's horns and for a moment, everypony had to shut their eyes and then rub them a bit to dull the pain. When everypony's eyes had adjusted, they all gasped at Dinky's current state.

Replacing the 'Magic Show' banner it now read 'Thank you Ponyville!' and it sparkled with gems decorating it and that wasn't all. Dinky herself... her hooves, mane and tail sparkled as if powdered diamonds had been sprinkled onto her, the young unicorn giggled and smiled widely as the appearance she had cast small dots of light everywhere that shone like rainbows, each dot a different color from the other.

"And that concludes tonight's show! Don't worry, she'll be back to normal in and hour." Star Spark announced to the crowd, but to also assure Derpy that her daughter would be alright.

**A/N: I know there wasn't as much happening in this chapter, but hopefully everyone enjoyed it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait on these chapters. Recently, I've been getting hit with really busy work schedules and even when I'm off, I'm usually too exhausted to write. So this chapter has been getting written bit by bit, but it's finally done. Enjoy!**

Derpy smiled as Dinky came up and nuzzled her mother, still sparkling due to the lanterns hanging around the vicinity and the moonlight. As the mares and gentlecolts started filing out of the stage area, they talked and laughed about how crazy and amazing the magic show was. As the last pony left the area, Derpy and her friends stepped onto the stage, where Trixie was busying herself with starting to clean up the stage and put up all her magic oriented things via teleportation magic.

Star Spark himself was helping her and, when he noticed Derpy and her friends, excused himself and walked over to them with a grin.

"Hope you enjoyed the show, everypony." He said, smiling as Dinky hopped in circles around him, talking wildly about his tricks and the show in general. She rivaled Pinkie at the moment for doing exactly that. Star smiled and gently put a hoof on her head and held her steady. "Yeah, I know, Dinky, thanks. It means a lot to me and my sister that you enjoyed it."

"Sorry, I'm just excited. Everything was awesome and-" Star Spark suppressed a chuckle and gave a small smile to Derpy as Dinky began to go on again with her praises, until Twilight stepped in and asked the young filly if she wanted to go ahead and learn more magic.

"But..." Dinky bit her lip, torn between spending more time with Star Spark and learning more magic.

"Hm..." Star Spark rubbed his chin, then smiled at the filly. "Dinky, I'm still going to be in Ponyville for a few more days," Derpy's heart sank at that revelation. "How about tomorrow you, your mother and I head down to Sugercube Corner and have some of those new Rainbow Cupcakes?"

"Yes!" Dinky cried, smiling widely and hugged the Unicorn before trotting off happily with Twilight after she bid her friends farewell and promised to bring Dinky back before it got really late.

After a few moments, Amethyst excused herself and promised to catch up with Derpy later. When she was gone, Star Spark rubbed his neck nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"...I didn't scare them off, did I?" He asked, frowning a bit.

"Nah, of course not. I think they just felt as if you two needed some alone time, if ya know what I mean." Rainbow Dash bumped her flank with Derpy's, giving her a grin and that caused the pegasus to blush a deep scarlet. "Ah! I just remembered! I promised Applejack to help her with um... something... um... Later!"

With that, the pegasus took flight, leaving just Star Spark and Derpy alone with Trixie, who had just now finished up cleaning the rest of the stage. She smiled as she approached the two, to which Derpy and Star returned.

"So... you're Derpy." Trixie said, offering a hoof with a genuine smile and Derpy shook it, grateful for the unicorn making the situation less awkward. "I was hoping you'd arrive today, Star just couldn't shut up about you last night. I actually had to cast a sleeping spell on him so I could really get to sleep."

Star Spark blushed heavily as Derpy looked at him with wide eyes, ok... now it was a bit awkward again.

Trixie allowed a small laugh. "Don't act embarrassed, Star has always been popular with the mares, but... you're the first he's shown interest in."

"Sis..." Star groaned, face-hoofing. "Please..."

Trixie laughed again, giving her brother a hug and shaking Derpy's hoof again. "Just don't stay up all night."

And with that, she was gone, leaving the Pegasus and Unicorn in an awkward silence. For a full minute, both were too embarrassed to look at one another as they scuffed their hooves against the floor. Star cleared his throat and finally met Derpy's gaze.

"Well, shall we get going?" He offered, trying to make the air less awkward.

"S-Sure. So where did you want to go?" Derpy asked, steadily getting more comfortable again, smiling softly.

"...I have no idea." Star Spark let out a small laugh, to which Derpy's smile widened a fraction as she accompanied the Unicorn off the stage.

* * *

><p>The pair had settled on just getting a few treats from Sugarcube Corner and setting out to have a nice evening outside. After a bit of walking through the park, they settled on a small cliff overlooking the pond in the middle of the park. While some of it was frozen due to the Autumn season, it was actually a warmer night than most thankfully and thus, the large pond had thawed somewhat. They sat together on a blanket Star conjured up, and smiled at one another when they began to share the batch of muffins that the unicorn had bought.<p>

He began telling her of his life, he and Trixie had always been interested in magic and basically showing off in general. Trixie moreso than Star, however that had changed obviously due to her time in Ponyville. Star Spark himself, was more of the stay at home stallion, and thus was the more mature and level headed of the siblings. Their parents had died when Trixie was still young, as he was older by about two years, so he had to raise them both since they'd lived so far from their extended family. They'd made a living by doing magic shows, and the fame going to Trixie's head was the reason why she was so boastful when she'd first came to Ponyville. As Star finished his tale, he smiled at the pegasus as he offered her another muffin, which she gladly accepted.

"So..." Star began, after silent had fallen between them. He nibbled lightly on the blueberry muffin he chose. "I'm sorry about what Trixie said, she enjoys teasing me."

"It's fine..." Derpy said quietly. "I'm... flattered really, and it was nothing bad, I hope?" She cast a worried glance at him.

"Of course not." Star smiled. "You're the most beautiful mare I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Derpy blushed then tilted her head when Star turned his head away. "What is it?"

"...I know that it's really none of my business, forgive me when I ask, but... are you taken?" Star asked.

Derpy bit her lip. "No... I'm not."

Star Spark let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I mean... I would have felt really bad with flirting and taking a mare on a picnic if she'd already been taken."

The pegasus nodded, understanding his reasoning. "It's alright Star, if I were taken I would have already let you know."

"Ah... yeah." Star rubbed his neck with a sheepish grin. "That makes sense."

They sat again in silence, gazing up at the full moon as they continued their picnic. For a long while, nothing was said as they just enjoyed eachother's company. As they both reached for a muffin, cliche as it was, their hooves touched and they looked into eachother's eyes and blushed. Derpy withdrew her hoof with a blush and then smiled as Star offered her a muffin, she took it with a smile and thanks, gently resting her head on his shoulder.

"...I-Is this ok?" Derpy asked softly, nervous.

"It's fine." Star smiled, and Derpy slowly put a wing around him, smiling back. "Actually, it's kinda nice. Being close to somepony..."

"You and your sister are close, right?" the pegasus asked.

"Yeah, but I meant like... how we are." Star blushed and Derpy hid her face in the crook of his neck to hide her own growing blush.

"Y-Yeah, it is..." She murmured, once again gazing up at the moon. It was silent between them yet again, however... it felt comforting, as if they needn't say anything to express how they were feeling at the moment. As it was, they were just content to be near eachother, feeling genuine affection begining to grow for the other, something that Derpy hadn't the luxary of experiencing and Star himself was equally inexperienced.

"...May I ask, what happened to Dinky's father? I mean, the way Dinky acted... I kinda made the assumption that he wasn't around when she was born. But I-" Star asked and when he felt Derpy stiffen, he quickly added. "F-Forget I asked, it's ok, you don't have to answer."

"...N-Not your fault." Star regretted asking the question when he realized Derpy's body was shaking slightly. "I-I just... want to let that part of me go, all that matters in that part of my mind, is that Dinky was born. Dinky is all that matters to me when it comes to those memories, honestly, there was no father..."

Star felt a bit worse, biting his lip. "Derpy... I-I'm sorry I asked..."

Derpy surprised him by leaning up to kiss his cheek, surprising herself as well, feeling courage flowing through her body due to all the kindness he'd given her. The pain from the past was slowly receeding from her thoughts and felt herself become calmer.

"Star... thank you." Derpy smiled. "Because of all this kindness, I've been gradually... coming out of my shell, I mean... I've always thought I wouldn't find 'the one', but... you're nice, compassionate, and Dinky adores you." Star chuckled softly, saying that was an understatement. "Well, regardless... I'm... I'm doing my best to let go of the past, and living in the present."

Star smiled, not expecting all of this, but happy to help make a change for the better. "You're welcome, Derpy. And I'm glad to hear that."

Star let out a small laugh as the pegasus gave him a hug, smiling as he hugged her back. "Ok Derpy, I won't lie... I really like you too, but we just met... I don't you rushing into anything, let's just take it slow if... you really want to be my marefriend?"

Derpy blushed, smiling as if she were a little filly again. "Yes, I'd like that."

"And I must say... that dress looks stunning on you tonight." Star smiled, admiring her dress that she wore, and Derpy felt a pit form in her stomach as his words were an echo of Dinky's father's. "...Did you make it yourself? I think Trixie would love to have one."

"...I-I..." Derpy began, starting to get short of breath as the bad memories she had tried so hard to forget started to fill her mind. Star voiced his concerns, but it was if he were a million miles away as she remembered that fateful night... after she was tricked into getting drunk...

"Derpy, what's wrong?" Star Spark asked in confusion, wondering what he had said wrong.

"I-I must go! I'm sorry!" Derpy spread her wings, choking back a sob as she took flight, rivalling Rainbow Dash due to how fast she disappeared, leaving Star behind hurt and confused.

"...What did I say wrong?" he asked aloud, feeling heartbroken.

With a heavy heart and a lump of emotions in his throat, he packed up this things, putting the satchel of muffins in his saddle bag and began to walk back to the inn, too upset to teleport with magic. He sighed to himself, running it over and over in his mind as he tried to figure out what he could have offended her with in that sentence. Looking at the ground, he grunted as he bumped into somepony, rubbing his forehead as he looked up, realizing he'd knocked over Amethyst Star.

"I-I'm so sorry, Amethyst." Star helped her up with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, no big deal." The mare smiled, dusting herself off, blinking in surprise when she noticed that he was alone. "Where's Derpy?"

"...I was going to ask you the same thing." The unicorn admitted, sighing. "She... took off. I don't know if I said or did anything wrong."

"Well... what happened?" Amethyst asked, and her eyes widened as she heard how it ended. "O-Oh no... she must be remembering the bad stuff... Dinky's Father said the same thing to her before..."

She trailed off and it only made Star Spark feel worse. "...I need to find her so I can apologize."

* * *

><p>"Derpy?" Star Spark called out, looking around for any sign of the pegasus.<p>

"Hey Derps, where are you?" Amethyst called aloud, her frown deepening. They'd already looked at Derpy's house and Sugarcube Corner, but neither had any signs that she was there. Finally after looking to every place they could think of, they had convinced, although it honestly hadn't taken much after she herself heard the story, Rainbow Dash to help look in the sky and so far she'd come up empty as well.

"Derpy? Where are you at?" Dash shouted as she weaved her way through the clouds. Finally, after what felt like hours, the pegasus spotted her friend laying on a rain cloud, no thunder or lightning, just rain. She sped off toward her and stopped in front of her. "...Derps..." She spoke softly.

Her feathers and mane were soaked with the rain, droplets clinging to her wings as they lay flat at her side. Her eyes had been red from crying... Rainbow Dash felt her stomach twist in knots, knowing... this had been her fault...

"...I-I want to be alone for now." Derpy said, burying her face and muzzle in the cloud. "Please Dash, just..."

"Derps, we've been looking for nearly an hour, please..." Dash laid next to her and gave her friend a hug. "C'mon, where's that awesome pegasus that we all know and love?"

The gray pegasus sighed and lifted her head up, looking at her friend. "...Dash, what he said... it brought up the bad memories... how am I-"

Dash shushed her with a hoof to her lips, smiling softly. She knew it would just make matters worse if she apologized all over again for the past, so instead she started straight with the comforting wisdom. "Listen, wanna know how I deal with these things?"

The gray pegasus nodded and Dash continued. "I just come to accept what has happened and move on. I mean, yeah I'd be upset as well but... I'd still be able to put on a smile, be with those who love me and just enjoy having the friendship and family that mean everything to me. From what I've heard, you've moved on quite a bit with how your night went with Star Spark. But running away like that... You should have seen how devastated Star was, he would have looked for you until he passed out from exhaustion... you have that effect on him, he'd do anything for you. Don't you see how much you mean to him?"

Derpy looked down at Ponyville below. "...I've accepted long ago that what happened has happened, and because of it, I have a beautiful daughter. Don't get me wrong, I despise Dinky's Father and what he did to me, but... that does NOT mean that Dinky is a mistake, I've told her before she's the best thing I've ever had happen to me."

"...Then share that happiness that you feel with Star Spark. He's willing to be with you, Derps. Give him a chance." Rainbow Dash smiled, patting her friend lightly on the back.

"..." Derpy pondered on this for a long while before finally smiling. "You're right, Dash. And thanks... I'll give him a chance. Before I ran off, I agreed to be his marefriend afterall. Also..." She grinned, looking at Dash. "I'm happy for you and Applejack."

"W-What?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, stuttering to get a coherent sentence out. "W-We're not... I mean..." Dash bit her tongue, averting her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything. Applejack told me everything." Derpy giggled, smiling at the reaction Dash was giving her.

"She WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash nearly screamed. "I told her-!"

"Relax... she just said that you two were special someponies, she didn't go into detail on anything." Derpy giggled again, smiling. "I'm happy for you two. So... good luck on your end."

Dash mumbled quietly as Derpy took flight and flew down into Ponyville, searching for her friends and Star Spark. She spotted them at once, smiling widely as she dove straight for Star.

"Sparky!" She shouted over the howl of the wind passing by her ears as she tackled him to the ground in a hug, nuzzling him as he lay there, dazed with the pegasus on top of him.

"Ah... wha...? The cat's got it with the salad... th... french toast..." Star Spark spoke gibberish for a few moments as he tried to make sense of up and down. He sat up, rubbing his head as he looked down at the gray pegasus and smiled as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry I ran off... I'm so sorry." She said to him as she refused to let go, nuzzling into him as tears threatened to spill again, Star affectionately returned the nuzzles as their friends exchanged smiles and 'Aww's.

* * *

><p>"Well... this is truly unfortunate, wouldn't you agree, Master?" Two shadowy figures stood atop the cliff overlooking Ponyville, watching the scene via magic projection.<p>

"Indeed... And just when I thought we would not have to use any additional means to keep them separated." The other replied.

"Shall we bring in Plan B?" the first asked.

"Yes, we must do everything we can... to stop the awakening of the Seventh Element of Harmony. They hold the key... and we must break them." The Master answered.

"Well... shall I make my move tomorrow at dawn?" A third voice chimed in, as a cloaked figure approached them.

"Seeing as how you broke her mentally before... you're the best stallion for the job." The Master replied, smiling underneath his own hood as he surveyed the third. A cloud-like mane spilled from under the hood as dull amber eyes sparkled in maniacal glee.

"I shall do my best to cause as much havoc as I can, Master." The third bowed, smirking.

"Do not let us down... Pierce." The Master said with a smirk of his own.

**A/N: And that concludes this chapter, I apologize again for the wait. As always, comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. Also, the Rainbow Dash X Applejack bit is only a reference, there will more than likely not going to be any more comments on that. Although I do ship them together.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, busy busy busy with work. :( That and I'm sure you all writers know the feeling of being unable to get the ideas from your head onto paper... er... screen, you know what I mean. But I overcame it, here is the new chapter. :D**

**Also, I put up a link for my DeviantART page to show you all Star Spark, be sure to check it out~**

"Hmph..." Star Spark only just managed to hear in his half-asleep state, sun filtering through the blinds of the Inn room he was renting for his stay in Ponyville.

"I don't know what she sees in you... you're nothing compared to me." Star heard the voice again, groaning as he opened his eyes slowly opening as he saw a robed figure at the foot of his bed, a blood-stained knife in it's mouth as it lifted it's head a fraction. Star felt a surge of panic as he turned to quickly pull the blinds up and turned his head back to the figure... only to be greeted with his empty room.

"...Buck..." He let out a loud sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he tried to calm himself. "Just my head messing with me since I just woke up..."

He groaned in pain softly when he got out of bed, looking at himself in the mirror to realize there was a long cut on his side, it wasn't very deep, but it sure as buck did hurt.

"...the hay?" Star grumbled to himself, now wondering how much of that mysterious cloaked figure was a dream and how much was real. After cleaning and patching the wound, he looked around his room and found an old empty glass bottle of Sweet Apple Acre's cider. The bottle was broken and he realized he must have cut himself by accident in his sleep, as there was dried blood on the broken jagged edge. He shook his head, remembering that he'd gotten the bottle from Applejack through Rainbow Dash and had finished it before going to bed last night and must have passed out from exhaustion, and thus, must have broken the bottle in his sleep.

"...Still, why did I dream about that?" Star murmured, wondering about the robed figure as he finished cleaning himself up, brushing his teeth and left his room to start the day.

* * *

><p>"Yay!" Derpy yawned softly as she headed down the stairs, hearing her daughter in the kitchen as she stepped in, she was greeted by the table laid out with food and Amethyst Star helping Dinky with the last bit of food as they both smiled at the pegasus.<p>

"Mommy! I was able to move the breakfast onto the table this time!" Dinky smiled widely and gave her mother a hug, Derpy smiled and hugged her daughter back.

"Good filly, Dinky." Derpy gently kissed her daughter on her forehead and stroked her hair. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Mama." Dinky hopped to her seat, smiling as she began to eat. Amethyst sat next to Dinky, with Derpy taking her daughter's other side as they finished up their breakfast with discussing what they would do for the day. First of all, Amethyst would be babysitting Dinky for a while since Derpy had to work, and after she came back they planned to go to Sugarcube Corner again and hang out with Star Spark.

With breakfast finished, Derpy pulled on her saddlebag and work hat, bidding her daughter and best friend farewell as she tied a yellow scarf around her neck and left to head for the post office to start her work morning.

For the entire time she worked, the events from last night replayed in her head. Rainbow Dash and Amethyst joined... well, they were technically considered a couple now, on the rest of their date per Derpy's request to make up for the whole searching bit, and everyone had a good time. After the pegasus walked Star to his home, was given the honor of having the first glass of the apple cider that he had recieved from Rainbow Dash, she left with Rainbow Dash and Amethyst in tow, content with how the rest of the night had played out. Shortly after getting home, Dinky was brought home by Twilight and the young unicorn was ecstatic to show her mother what she had learned. Even Twilight was surprised and quite proud, same as Derpy of course, that Dinky was such a fast learner. And she was quite adept at keeping her focus, that also pleased Derpy and Twilight.

"...Soon you'll probably outmatch me in magic, Dinky." Derpy remembered her friend telling Dinky, smiling to herself as she finished up with the last letter of the day.

"Ok so..." She stopped, looking at the letter that had been addressed to Lyra Heartstrings. In the sender address was written 'Hans Manicure' and the 'S' was smudged slightly so it looked more like a 'D' so it read 'Hand Manicure'... what was that? The words eluded her... And written on the back were the words "I Know What You Did Last Summer".

"...Ok then." Derpy shrugged with a smile on her face as she was finally done with work, putting the letter into the mare's mailbox and took flight again to drop her things off and to head home so she could drop off her work saddlebag and head off to the Inn to fetch Star Spark.

Unbeknownst to the giddy mailmare, the same robed figure that had threatened the disoriented Star Spark observed her from the shadows...

* * *

><p>"Ok, so the bandage should- Ah!" Star jumped a bit when he opened the door to the hallway from his Inn room to see Derpy standing there with a hoof raised, about to knock. "Hey Derps, sleep ok?"<p>

As he gave her a hug, he groaned softly as the cut stretched a bit and Derpy quickly apologized. "I slept fine, but... what happened to you?"

"I guess I must've fell asleep with that bottle of apple cider after finishing it, I woke up and it was broken and I assumed it's what I cut myself on." Star Spark replied.

"...It looks like a big wound, shouldn't you see the doctor about that?" Derpy asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Derps, honest." Star put on a smile, albeit she was unconvinced, the pegasus smiled back and accompanied the unicorn down the hall.

"So yeah, I really enjoyed last night. We should have get-togethers like that more often, I really really liked that, it was fun." Star Spark smiled as Derpy draped a wing over him as they walked out of the Inn.

"Sure, we can even invite some of your friends from Canterlot." Derpy replied and Star gave an uncomfortable look. "What?"

"I uh... don't really have any friends... from anywhere." Star said softly and Derpy smiled, even though she felt a bit of pity.

"Don't worry, you've got me. And my friends are your friends." The pegasus said, wanting to keep the mood light and cheerful. "And guess what."

"Hm... Vinyl Scratch is on tour again?" Star Spark joked, smiling as he felt himself become happier, by Celestia this mare knew how to put a smile on his face. Just simply looking at her, seeing her smiling back at him, that more than anything was enough to make him happy.

"Dinky learned how to teleport small items last night." Derpy told the Unicorn.

"No way! Really?" Star asked as they passed by Twilight's Library, with the Alicorn leaving her home to join the couple. "How fast did she learn to perform the spell?"

"Oh very fast, I'm quite proud of her. I even offered to take her up as a student." Twilight chimed in, smiling brightly.

"You're not the only one that's proud." Derpy beamed, seeing Amethyst, Rainbow Dash and Dinky in the window as they approached Sugarcube Corner.

"By the way, Twilight..." Derpy asked, pushing the doors open to the shop. "I saw a weird word today, and I don't know what it is..."

"What's the word?" Twilight asked, readying her encyclopediac brain.

"...What are er... is... 'Hands'?" Derpy asked in confusion as Star gave a one eyebrow raised look, just as confused as the gray pegasus. "...And Manicure?"

* * *

><p>Star groaned softly, gently rubbing his side as he walked with Derpy and her friends with no destination in particular. His marefriend gave a concerned look as did the others.<p>

"Lunch was great, thank you, everypony." Star said, trying to divert everyone's attention back to the meal they just had. It didn't work.

"I honestly think you should go to the doctor." Derpy frowned and Twilight nodded in agreement.

"I'm fine, really." Star insisted and Twilight sighed, stopping the group. "May I see it for a minute? I'm sorry, we can't go any further until I do, it's really starting to bug me knowing that you've got this large wound and just put a band-aid on it."

Star Spark mumbled something, but relented nonetheless, untying the bandage and it did indeed look worse than it felt. True while it stung being revealed to the air, it also itched a bit. Derpy made Dinky look away while Twilight examined the wound and concluded that he would indeed need to go to the hospital. It was simply too large of a cut to ignore, he would need stitches. At that, Star groaned.

"...But I don't wanna! I-I hate stitches..." Star said, sounding like a colt.

"Sparky..." Derpy said softly, tilting her head. "Are you afraid of needles?"

There was a long silence as they awaited his answer before he hung his head and sighed in defeat. "Ok, yes I'm afraid of needles. You can all laugh now..."

It comforted him that none of them did, instead Derpy retied the bandage and agreed to sit with him all through the procedure, she promised him that it wouldn't hurt and that alleviated some of his worries, he smiled softly.

"...Thanks Derps, I'm lucky to have you as-" His eyes wided, becoming unfocused as he let out a cry of pain, clutching at his side as a burning sensation ripped through his body as if somepony had pressed a torch against the cut. The sensation caused him to twitch and spasm as he clutched his side, collapsing in the dirt, passing out almost before he hit the ground.

"Star Spark!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>"...In time... you will come to know what destiny has laid out for you... Time to awaken..."<strong>_

* * *

><p>The unicorn groaned softly, cracking his eyes open, he looked around and took in his surroundings. He was in Ponyville's hospital, with Derpy and Amethyst sitting on chairs next to the bed, holding a quiet discussion.<p>

"...What the buck happened?" Star croaked out, his voice dry.

"Oh thank Celestia you're awake!" Derpy said, heaving a sigh of relief. "The Doctor said you wouldn't wake up for another hour, honestly... I was scared." She helped him drink some of the water from the glass on his beside and held him down gently after that. "Please don't move... apparently you were poisoned somehow..."

"Poisoned?" Star repeated, coughing a bit.

"We're not sure how yet, but... the Doctor said that the cut on your side wasn't from a broken bottle like you thought, it was from a knife." Amethyst spoke up.

Star was getting more and more confused, this didn't make sense.

"Don't try to move too much, the poison is very toxic and has unknown effects on your body. It's only in your side for now, they were unable to get all of it out, and too much moving will cause it to spread." Derpy said softly, and Star nodding, understanding. "That and you had to get a few stiches, I don't want you tearing them out, ok?"

"So what the hay was I poisoned with?" Star asked, nodding as he saw his stitches, thankful that he had been unconscious for the procedure. He quickly looked away to keep himself from getting sick.

"We honestly don't know, Twilight was sent to fetch Zecora from the Everfree Forest. She's the expert when it comes to remedies and potions." Derpy replied. "Don't worry, you'll be better in no time."

In reality, Derpy was still afraid, her own words didn't even put her at ease. She was afraid that she was going to lose him due to... she bit her lip and mentally shook her head, trying her best to get a smile on her face, only half managing.

"Are you hungry? You've been out for quite a while." Derpy giggled when Star's stomach growled, giving the mares his answer. "Alright, anything in particular you want?"

"Just a daisy and hay sandwich, please. I'm hungry, but I don't know if I can stomach much so I'll start simple." Star replied and the mares nodded, leaving the room to head to the cafeteria.

He looked out the window to see Ponyville live with mares, stallions, colts and fillies going this way and that. It brought a smile to his face that everypony was happy and content with their small and quaint lives in Ponyville, it was much different than the prim and proper residents of Canterlot. ...Maybe he should consider living here, that way he could be closer to Derpy and enjoy a nice and quiet life.

* * *

><p>"Hm... this will do..." Pierce smirked to himself, eying the precariously perched cart that had all of Star Spark's and Trixie's magical items atop a hill, gazing into the busy town of Ponyville. With one swift movement, he kicked the stoppers from under the wheels and watched the cart start off toward the Town Square before disappearing in smoke.<p>

* * *

><p>Star sighed softly, watching the residents move about their business, wishing he could figure out who had done this to him. Was it possible... that this morning hadn't been a dream? An assassin? It honestly wouldn't have been the first time...<p>

His thoughts were cut short as he heard a loud yell "RUNAWAY CART!" and craned his head up to catch the distant shape of his and Trixie's cart speeding toward the Square. He sat up, but sat still, remembering what Derpy said.

He saw with horror as the ponies struggled to find some way to stop it, but soon gave up and cleared a path to let it run it's course through the Square, he saw Spike and Dinky enter it's path unwittingly due to leaving the Sugarcube Corner with two boxes of what appeared to be rainbow cupcakes just as Derpy and Amethyst came back in with his sandwich. Forget sitting still! He quickly teleported right next to the unicorn and baby dragon, pushing them out of the way as the cart smashed into him, pain lanced through his body due to the poison and felt in agony as his right foreleg broke, and as the cart slowed to a stop, falling on top of him and causing even more bodily harm, breaking two ribs, he let out a cry of agony before passing out due to the pain.

"Oh buck, Spark!" Derpy's eyes widened before she and Amethyst ran out of the room to help him, the forgotten sandwich hitting the floor as the plate broke.

"C-Come on, somepony help!" Derpy heard Dinky cry out as she and Spike struggled to remove the cart. Some ponies were still too stunned by the turn of events, but others quickly shook off the shock and immediately helped the baby dragon and unicorn. Derpy felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw how badly hurt he was, four of his stitches were torn and Amethyst forced her to look away as Big Mcintosh came up and helped carry him back to the hospital. Twilight appeared in a flash of magenta light with Zecora, quickly learning the new situation from the near hysterical pegasus. Twilight offered comfort with a hug before going to join Zecora to hurry after Big Mac and Star Spark.

"A-Amy..." Derpy's body was shaking as she was crying softly. "...I-Is this a mistake?" at her friend's confused look, she added. "Becoming his marefriend?"

"Why do you-" Amethyst began.

"Ever since I agreed to be his marefriend, he's been having things happen to him." Derpy said, cutting her friend off as she looked up at her with an expression that made her friend's heart break. This was getting to her just like last night was... Amethyst needed to think quick.

"Derps, Derpy, listen to me..." Amethyst said gently, trying to keep her friend from going hysterical. "This has nothing to do with that, it's just coincidence, ok? He's going to be fine, trust me."

Derpy looked away, wiping her eyes, her friend tilted her head up and smiled softly. "Trust me."

The pegasus nodded slowly, Dinky stepped up to her mother and hugged her tightly, to which the pegasus returned.

"...What the hay?!" Trixie exclaimed, examining her and her brother's damaged cart with an agitated expression. "The Great-... our cart, what happened?"

"That's nothing, it fell on your brother, he's in the hospital." Amethyst replied sharply, noting how Derpy's eyes flashed angrily.

"He..." Trixie's voice grew quiet and she immediately turned and started running toward the hospital, not waiting for an explanation.

Derpy took a step toward the hospital but Amethyst stopped her with a hoof in front of her, stepping in front of her friend. "It would only cause more pain than good, give him a while before you go. Trust me, it'll be better on your mind if you visit him after he's been taken care of."

Derpy sighed, looking at Dinky, putting on a smile for her daughter. "Let's go get you and Spike some new rainbow cupcakes."

* * *

><p>"Hmph... that went better than I thought..." Pierce smirked to himself, having observed the carnage from via magical projection. He turned as he felt the presence of his Master radiated behind him. "Shall I kill him? He is too wounded to fight back."<p>

"No, I've told you before do not kill him. He's stronger than he appears, Pierce. You of all people should know that." The Master said in a tone that made Pierce shrink back only involuntarily. He looked into the crimson eyes of the hooded unicorn that stood before him, having only seen his magical aura on occasion, and not even seeing his face once.

"And what of Derpy?" Pierce asked.

"...Do not harm her, I've told you that before. Do you not listen to anything I tell you?" The Master replied with a hint of aggrivation.

"...As you wish, Master. And of course I listen, I was just wondering if the plans have changed." Pierce bowed, sighing. "Out of all the mares..."

"Do you mean to say you still have feelings for her?" The Master asked, his horn glowing with a crimson aura and Pierce balked.

"O-Of course not." He replied hastily and the Master's aura dispersed. "She was a one-night stand, that is all."

"Just keep your bucking head straight, don't mess up and you will live. Keep watch, but do not interfere any more yet." The Master growled, shaking his head. "You will report regularly on Star Spark's status and no matter what, Do. Not. Harm. Derpy."

"Yes, Master." Pierce nodded.

**A/N: Well, I hope this chapter turned out as good as I thought. Again, sorry for the long wait.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the next.**

"Don't you die on me, damn it!"

"Get him intubated, now! Ma'am, you need to leave, please!"

"Buck that! I'm his sister! I need-"

"Ma'am, leave! Somepony please escort her out!"

"Cardiac arrest, we're losing him!"

"CLEAR!"

* * *

><p>Star Spark groaned softly, feeling a smooth surface pressed up against his cheek. He opened his eyes slowly, then screwed them back shut at the bright light that stung his eyes.<p>

"Slowly, kiddo." He heard and snapped his eyes open, groaning in pain as he shut them just as fast, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, slowly opening to let them adjust to the light.

"Heh, sorry..." Star heard as he blinked, looking up into the smiling faces of his mother and father. They were at their old home, one that he and Trixie had abandoned to live wherever the road took them after they became traveling performers.

"M-Mom...? Dad...?" He whispered, his throat going dry as they nodded, smiling still. "B-But you're..."

"Shh, don't worry, Star." His mother, Diamond Sparkle said gently. "You're not dead, you're just having a near-death experience. I..." she noticed how Star's expression changed. "I know that doesn't make it sound any better, but you will live, rest assured."

The young unicorn nodded, smiling softly. "I-I'm just... so happy to see you two again, I just wish Trixie were here to see you. Well, not having a near-death experience but... you know what I mean."

They smiled sadly. "Alas, we wish the same... but there is little time. We mainly came to see you because there was something you should know..."

"Something for your future, Star Spark." His father, Armored Dusk said. "Firstly..."

He trailed off, taking a deep breath. His parents exchanged sad looks and directed their attention to Star Spark.

"...We're not your real parents, and Trixie is not your real sister. I'm sorry, but you were adopted." His father said softly, trying to make his words as gentle as he could.

"I'm... what?" Star Spark repeated, dumbfounded as a pit formed in his stomach.

"Come." Armored Dusk said, leading the young Unicorn into his parent's old bedroom. As he and his mother sat in an uncomfortable silence, his father dug around his closet in search of something specific.

"...So, Trixie is your real daughter, and... I'm just adopted?" Star Spark asked quietly.

"Yes, but we loved you both equally. We raised you as our own, despite how early we left the living world, we never said because we didn't want to shatter your image of us." Diamond Sparkle replied, trying to comfort the unicorn. "We thought that you might end up resenting us..."

"I don't resent you, I never will." Star Spark said truthfully, managing to put on a smile. "But... why tell me this now?"

"It's for your future, you have the right to know who your true parents are, Star Spark." Armored Dusk answered, retrieving a large box from the closet and set it in front of the Unicorn. "This is what you appeared to us in."

Star opened up the box and saw that it was full of old hay, two blankets and a note. He started reading the note and then his eyes widened as he had to reread the contents and at the identity of the signer.

"S-So... I'm not... from..." He sputtered, looking up into his 'parents' eyes as they shook their heads. "And... she's really...? I've seen her so many times before, why didn't she ever tell me?!"

Star was pacing now, thoughts swirling through his head as he tried to process these new revelations. His 'parents' sat in front of him, trying to calm him down but it was doing little to nothing to even put him at ease

"...All the fending for ourselves me and Trixie had to do... all the bucking shit we had to go through..." Star vented, his anger rising. "She could have taken us in! And-"

"Listen! She wasn't around until recently if you remember the stories, Star Spark. Take a deep breath and calm down, anger is clouding your thoughts." Armored Dusk said, trying to get through to his 'son'. "She was-"

"I know the stories! But..." He took a deep breath to calm himself down, sighing as he sat down, looking at his cutie mark. "At least... it makes sense on why my cutie mark is what it is, it's a mark of my heritage. The star part was for my magic abilities and the..."

* * *

><p>"...How's he doing?" Trixie asked desperately, her eyes wild and her mane a complete and utter mess in tangles.<p>

The Doctor cleared his throat, giving a sympathetic expression. "He's stabilized, but it took too long to resuscitate him, he's in a coma."

"For how long?!" Trixie demanded.

"It's hard to say... days, weeks... maybe even months." The Doctor answered, giving a gentle pat on Trixie's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing more that we can do besides hope for the best that he wakes up soon."

"May I see him?" Trixie asked, and the Doctor nodded, leading her into Star's room. He lay on his back, with his right foreleg in a cast and his side was bandaged from what appeared to be a large cut. From what she gathered from the nurses, Zecora was able to purge a mysterious poison from the cut and, also thanks to the shaman, his cut was partway healed and his broken bones were treated and on their way to being healed faster as well.

"T-Thank you, Zecora. I am in your debt." Trixie said softly to the shaman, bowing a bit.

"'Tis no thanks be given, as I would do anything for my friends for I am driven." Zecora smiled warmly, giving the unicorn a bow back before leaving after making sure Star Spark was well taken care of.

After a few minutes of silence sitting next to Star Spark's bedside, Twilight knocked on the door gently before coming in, taking a seat next to the unicorn. It was a bit uncomfortable for a few seconds until the alicorn decided to speak.

"...I heard that Zecora was of great use, and that Star should make a fast recovery." She said softly as she conjured up a hairbrush, offering it to the mare.

"Yeah... I guess it's for the best that he's in the coma, that way he doesn't have to deal with the pain just yet. Better for him to get well first and then wake up." Trixie replied, giving a soft thanks and began to straighten her mane. "So... the Father's Day Festival is this Friday, right?"

"...What brought that up?" Twilight asked, slightly confused at the sudden change of topic.

"Heh, you thought we forgot, didn't you?" Trixie allowed a small smile. "Well, last night before he passed out, Star told me that he wanted to take Dinky along with him in the festival. But... I don't know if he'd be well enough, or even awake, to go to that..."

"I see. Dinky would understand, though. She wouldn't hold a grudge against him, especially after this." Twilight replied and the unicorn nodded. "Trixie, I know it's hard but you should just let him be for now. He's not going anywhere, how about we go to Sugarcube Corner to help cheer you up?"

Trixie gave one last look to her big brother and then nodded at Twilight, smiling softly. "Y-You're right, I won't be much use just sitting here. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Derpy, Amethyst, Spike and Dinky all looked up to see Trixie and Twilight enter Sugercube Corner and join the group's table. Derpy looked almost worse than Trixie had been just minutes ago, minus the messy mane.<p>

"How is he?" The four asked in unison.

"He'll be fine, Zecora was able to help after they were able to resuscitate him." Derpy and Dinky looked at eachother as Trixie spoke, worried. "He's fine, but... he's in a coma. They're not sure when he'll wake up."

"I see..." Derpy looked down at her untouched blueberry muffin. Everyone knew how badly this affected the pegasus, as she was known to _never_ turn down a muffin...

Dinky squeezed inbetween Amethyst and her mother, giving a loving hug to the pegasus, who appreciated the gesture and hugged her back.

"Mama, can we go give the drawing to Sparky so he can see it when he wakes up?" Dinky asked sweetly, Derpy smiled.

"Of course, what did you draw him?" Derpy replied.

Dinky held up a piece of paper drawn on with crayon that was stored in Amethyst's saddlebag, it depicted a scene of the festival with Derpy, Dinky and Star Spark enjoying themselves. Nothing really in particular except for the trio and a few tents, but it was adorable since she drew it herself. She showed her mother a second picture of the three of them as if posing for a picture. Derpy smiled warmly and hugged her daughter again, at least she didn't have problems with Dinky liking Star Spark, as some mares she's heard of having their foals and fillies hate their coltfriends.

"That's adorable, Dinky." Trixie smiled. "I should take some art lessons from you, I stink at drawing."

"I'd love to show you how to draw." Dinky beamed, and Trixie suppressed a giggle. "So um... what do we do now, Mama?"

Derpy looked at her friends, at a loss of ideas. They'd been to Sugarcube Corner for the better part of the week...

"How about the park, Dinky?" Derpy suggested, smiling.

"Sorry Dinky, I read the message wrong. I don't have to go to Canterlot for the Ambassadors until _next_ week. So... I can help you practice in more magic today if you want." Twilight said to the filly as the group had a small picnic to help calm the nerves.

"...What's an Amba-thingy?" Dinky asked, frowning as she struggled to correctly pronounce the word.

"An Ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by one country as it's long-term representative to another." Twilight Sparkle answered, smiling softly. Her smile faltered only slightly as Dinky tilted her head to the side.

"Someone coming from another place to talk about important grown-up things, Dinky." Derpy giggled at her daughter's cute look. Her daughter "Ooh'ed and smiled, nibbling on an apple fritter that Trixie given her. The group sat on a checkered blanket next to the pond that was in the middle of the park, ponies, fillies and foals roamed about while they enjoyed their family and friend's time together.

Derpy felt a small smile on her face as she saw a small family sit down to eat lunch together, a colt and mare sat happily with their foal, nuzzling him as they started to eat.

...It made her think of how her life could be with Star Spark.

"Derpy?" The pegasus blinked, noticing that Amethyst had waved her hoof in front of her face.

"Ah? Sorry..." She smiled apologetically. "What'd you say?"

* * *

><p><em>-Two Days Later-<em>

"Hmph... looks like that blue idiot finally woke from his coma. I should just- OW!" Pierce turned, rubbing the back of his head as he glared and then suddenly straightened up as The Master was standing behind him.

"I have told you time and again. Do not harm Star, or Derpy." He said in a menacing tone.

"You said only not to harm Derpy. Nothing about Star." Pierce shot back.

"...Shall I imprison you, again, for your insolence?" The Master asked, glaring and that actually shut Pierce up. "Good, then it's settled."

"...You told me not to harm either of them, but I don't understand what you're playing at. What the buck is your plan?" Pierce asked.

"In time... I will answer that, but now is not the right time." The Master replied.

Pierced grumbled. "You've said that to me before. I'm starting to question your true motives, you told me a few days ago that we need to keep them apart and to stop the awakening of the Seventh Element of Harmony. But yet now you say that there should be no harm to either of them, so isn't that going against what you originally wanted? Which is it? Keep them apart or allow them to be together and awaken the Seventh Element?"

The Master was silent, turning away and disappearing in a flash of crimson light.

"...Bucking hay, I'm fed up with this. I think I'll just kill them already." Pierce growled as he grit his teeth, gazing loathingly as Derpy and Dinky entered Star Spark's room.

**A/N: I sincerely apologize for the wait, work and life in general. I plan to see this through to the end. **

**Also, feel free to take a guess on who Star's mother is. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, a lot of you have already made guesses as to who Star's mother is. Well... I must say, I am surprised that most of you have put in some pretty good guesses, more or less pretty much only one specific pony. I guess she's more popular for a choice than I originally thought when I first thought it up.**

"Okay well..." Star cleared his throat, trying to get used to the wheel chair as he frowned, wishing his right foreleg would heal faster. He was confined to it to keep pressure off of his foreleg so it could finish healing properly. Even with the ointments and such from the shaman Zecora, his leg wouldn't heal up until at least another day, and the Father's Day Festival was tomorrow...

"Dinky, would you still be okay with me taking you to the Festival with your mother?" He asked the young filly and she brightened up.

"A wheelchair isn't going to rain on my day, I still want you to go." She smiled brightly, giving the Unicorn a hug and he returned it with his good leg, smiling back. "Now no one will make fun of me. I'll finally have a Daddy to take me."

Derpy and Star exchanged looks, the Pegasus' was amusement while Star's was uneasy. Not only had they just met nearly a week ago, they had only started dating a few days ago. He didn't think it was possible for her to find him as her Dad so quickly, but... ah buck she adored him. And he admitted the filly was growing on him fast, she was just so darn adorable. The unicorn smiled and hugged her again.

"Ok Dinky ok, settle down." He pet her hair. "I mean... I'd love nothing more than to be your father, but..."

"But...?" Dinky asked, tilting her head.

Star chuckled. "Nothing, forget about it. We'll all have a good time tomorrow."

Dinky giggled and went to her room to retrieve a few drawings she drew for him while he recovered, he had seen a few when he woke up while the rest were home.

"So..." he said quietly so Dinky wouldn't hear just in case. "...Somepony was making fun of her for not having a Dad?"

"...Yes." Derpy replied, a highly hurtful tone entered her voice. She filed through a bit of papers that were under her mailmare bag on the counter, holding up a piece of folded up notebook paper. Star gasped after he finished it the first time, having to reread it several times.

"T-The buck?!" Star swore slightly out loud, looking up at Derpy, who was wiping her eyes.

"I-It's nothing... the past is in the past. All that matters is Dinky is my daughter and I would do anything for her, I love her so much. Dinky is all that matters." Derpy told Star, repeated her mantra. "Insults don't hurt me as much as they used to. Ponies stopped referring me as 'Ditz' and the like when I proved to be a competent mailmare. And being friends with Twilight and Amtheyst and the others... it helped me get out of that rut and become a smart mare in the eyes of those who used to make fun of me. But... foals and fillies can be cruel, regardless."

Star nodded, bringing her into a hug and ignored the pain from his nearly healed ribs. All that remained on them were to wait for the bruising to go away. He kissed her cheek, then her forehead and rested his nose against hers.

"Derpy... I wish I could have met you long ago. I would have done everything in my power to keep people from making fun of my marefriend." He said truthfully, and Derpy smiled, even while fresh tears of happiness crawled down her cheeks. "Derps... I know... that I said I want to take this slow... but... I honestly believe I'm falling even harder for you."

"S-Star..." Derpy said quietly, nuzzling him gently. "T-Thank you... no stallion has ever treated me this kindly, well... except the Doc and Mac."

Star smiled and was completely caught off guard as Derpy wrapped her hooves around him, having what some pegasi referred to as a 'wing boner', eyes closed and she kissed him full on the lips. A blush engulfed both of their cheeks as he slowly closed his eyes as well and kissed her back. It was short, but sweet and slightly more passionate than Derpy had originally intended however she didn't mind one bit, she pulled back slowly, tears that were a mixture of sadness and happiness fell from her eyes as she whimpered slightly.

"S-Star..." She said quietly, her voice breaking. "You've changed my world... Dinky adores you... I've never been this happy with a stallion... please please please don't ever leave me... I can't bear it if we were to ever separate... Please, Star." She emphasised each 'Please' with a quick peck on the lips.

"Derpy... I promise, I won't ever leave you. Not now... not ever." Star replied truthfully. "In fact... I was considering remaining in Ponyville to live near you. Now... I know I'm staying."

"Star, there's... oh um... should I give you two a minute?" Amethyst started, as she walked into the livingroom where they were at, then stopped as she noticed how they were in the chair.

"N-No, we were just... discussing some personal matters. But Star said he's going to live in Ponyville now." Derpy blushed, getting off Star's lap.

"Well, that's awesome for the both of you. But um... anyway, Spike said he has a message for you. He said it's very important that you come to the Library. The others are already there, apparently there's something big going on... You need to come at once. Dinky, sweetie, can you come with me?"

* * *

><p>Star blushed softly in embarrassment as Derpy wheeled him into the Library. True, while no one there was going to judge him due to his injuries, he still felt inferior due to being confined to the chair. He was comforted by Fluttershy and Applejack, two of the Six that he had not met before and Rarity simply adored him for his color of mane and coat. She commented on outfits that would go perfect with his colors until Derpy politely waved her off, and Twilight cleared her throat loudly to get everypony's attention.<p>

"Okay, I've brought everypony here today for an important message that came straight from Princess Celestia. It involves all of us, including Derpy and Star." The couple blinked at Twilight's words, they were immensely curious at this news. "Spike?"

The baby purple dragon gave a loud belch, a scroll appearing in a wisp of green smoke and Twilight immediately caught it with her magic. She broke the seal and unfurled it, reading it aloud to the group:

_"Dear Twilight Sparkle and friends,_

_My sister and I have been having recurring visions of events that have not come to pass, nor are we sure when they will. They are increasingly strange and we request that you come to Canterlot as soon as possible to discuss these matters, as the visions have included all of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, as well as Derpy and Star, who are a special matter in this case._

_Anticipating your reply,_

_Princess Celestia"_

"Strange visions?" Twilight asked aloud, tapping her chin in thought as she reread the letter.

"Huh... So... what do me and Star have to do with this?" Derpy asked, and everypony else had that question on their mind as well. "And why couldn't she tell us more?"

"Maybe she was figurin' it'd be better to tell us herself?" Applejack reasoned.

"Well... we won't be able to find out anything just by standing here. We should go now." Rainbow Dash grinned.

"...I'm not going." Star spoke up, surprising everypony greatly.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Spike asked, his eyes wide. Rarely, if ever, nopony had ever turned down a request from the Princess of Equestria for a meeting. "This is pretty big and important and-"

"I'm not going." Star said with a tone of finality, shaking his head and looked away. "I'm sorry, I just can't."

"Why not?" Derpy asked, frowning.

He sighed heavily and managed to turn the wheelchair away from her and that hurt Derpy, she turned him back and forced her to look her in the eyes.

"Don't shut me out, Star." She said sternly. "...Why won't you go? Did you have a bad show there or... did you... have a one-night stand?" She said that last bit with hurt in her voice, she wasn't accusing him, but it sure as buck felt like it. And it didn't come easily...

"No!" he said quickly, looking her in the eyes with tears in his own. "...I-I'm just... confused, on one hoof, I want to accept her as my mother and put the rest behind myself... but on the other hoof, I'm mad at her for sending me away..."

"Wait, what are you getting at?" Derpy asked and everypony looked at Star, eager for his answer.

"...I-I'm talking about... Princess Luna..." He took a deep breath, looking into Derpy's eyes as he saw her piece it together. "...Is my real mother."

"...WHAT?!" Everypony shouted in unison.

* * *

><p>Princess Luna sighed as she paced in front of her niece, Princess Cadance. "What do I do? On one hoof, he's probably horribly confused and is probably furious at me for basically abandoning him. On the other, he probably wants to accept me..."<p>

Princess Cadance was silent, letting Luna vent out her worries.

"Cadance!" Luna said, looking her dead in the eyes. "Tell me, what do I do?!"

"From what you've told me, the only thing that would more than likely work best is a conversation to set everything straight. You can't force him to accept you, but you can very well explain everything to help him understand any questions he might have. That is all you can do, talk to him and explain and hope that he will come to terms with all the information." Princess Cadance reasoned, smiling softly.

"Maybe you can use your magic to-" Princess Luna began.

"Luna! I honestly can't believe you were going to suggest that!" Cadance cut her off, apalled.

"...I'm sorry, I'm just freaking out right now." Luna sighed, sitting down and looked at the floor. "It tore me up inside to give him away... he needs to understand that I was doing it for his own safety."

"...There you go, tell him the truth and how much he means to you. Trust me, I'm sure everything will work out in the end." Cadance said reassuringly.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"...I see." The Master nodded as Pierce relayed him this newest piece of information.<p>

Pierce frowned, tilting his head and snorted. "You see? You're not bucking shocked or surprised? We've got another relative of the Princess' to deal with now! How are you not-"

"I knew it already." The Master replied, chuckling darkly at Pierce's change of expression.

"And you didn't think to tell me?!" Pierce demanded..

"...You never asked." The Master replied simply, grinning nastily at Pierce seething in rage.

"No more bucking games! I've followed you because you said we'd destroy Ponyville and kill Derpy and Star! Tell me now, are you going to follow through on your words or will I just have to do everything myself without your help?!"

"...One, I never SAID that we would kill Derpy and Star, you just merely thought I said with your deluded insane mind of yours. Second, you've been doing a fine mess of bucking things up in my Town when I specifically said not to. And thirdly..."

He lowered his hood, and Pierce gasped as his eyes widened at the identity of the stallion. "I am getting fed up of your attitude. Your services are no longer applicable to my plans, Pierce. Goodbye and may you find peace in whatever good you have left in your heart."

With that, the Master enveloped Pierce in a crimson aura, teleporting him to parts unknown as he pulled his hood back on and watched as the group began to leave the Library. He sighed, hoping that everything would turn out for the better than he originally saw. Only time would tell if his actions would have any effect on events to come.

**A/N: Well, here's the next chap. Sorry if it seemed short, I just started writing this a day ago and thought I'd get it finished as a Thanksgiving treat for you all.**

**Happy Thanksgiving everypony!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks to everypony who read, reviewed and loved the last chapter.**

Twilight had already sent a letter replying to Princess Celestia that they would be headed onto the next train to Canterlot as the Mane Six, Spike included, watched Derpy accompany Star as they headed back to his Inn room to grab a few things for the trip. The poor Stallion looked so distressed as Derpy nuzzled him while they traveled to the Inn.

"Don't worry..." she whispered comforting to him, kissing his cheek. "I'm here for you, always will be." She smiled sweetly as Star currently had a far-off expression. "Star..."

She laid a hoof on his and he stirred, stopping just as they came to the entrace of the Inn. The Stallion looked into her eyes and brought her hoof up to his cheek and kissed his lips gently.

"Star, don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out." She comforted him, leading him into the building to gather some of his things for the trip and left his room shortly thereafter. With his bag tied to his wheelchair, Star gently knocked on the door to Trixie's room.

"Hey Trixie..." The Stallion said, trying to muster a smile. "We're headed to Canterlot for a little bit, Derpy and I were summoned by Princess Celestia. So you can go ahead and have fun and do some shows without me if you'd like."

"How are you feeling?" The Unicorn asked, worry laced into her voice as she tilted her head. "Are you well enough to travel?"

"I've got Derpy, don't worry. I'll be just fine. I'm in good hooves with her and her friends." Star Spark assured her, but his sister was unconvinced. He gave a smile, feeling a bit better after hearing himself say that. "Honestly, I'll be fine, okay? I'm the big brother, I'm supposed to worry about you."

Trixie gave a small smile at that. "Okay okay, I get it. You have a good trip and stay safe."

"We will." Star nodded, letting Derpy wheel him out of the Inn.

* * *

><p>"Hm..." The Master tapped his chin in thought, pondering over his plan as he sat in a small clearing complete with a large pond and waterfall in the middle of the Everfree Forest.<p>

"A troubled youth I see, what can I do to help with thee?" The Master lifted his head only a fraction, being careful to keep his hood up as Zecora revealed herself by walking from the thick brush and gently pushed aside a tree branch to aproach the Unicorn.

"I am fine, Sage. I appreciate the gesture, however I... honestly would like to get things together myself." The Master replied, looking away to cast more shadows on his face to avoid being recognized.

"I see... Well to thee I can say this, look to the stars to cast away thoughts of amiss. While it is not my... how to say, cup of tea, I will be willing to help thee." Zecora offered a small smile and The Master perked up a bit, looking at the Zebra who tilted her head. "Have we met before?"

"Uhm..." The Master turned his head again quickly, hiding his face. "I must go."

Zecora nodded, deciding to leave him be instead of stopping him, as that would've been rude. The Master looked at the Zebra before shrugging and disappearing into the brush before teleporting to Canterlot to await the arrival of Star Spark and the others.

* * *

><p>Star groaned, opening his eyes slowly and sat up, rubbing his eyes as he took in his surroundings and gasped. His bed was untouched and only the sheets were rustled from his sitting up, while the blanket fell to his lap.<p>

However... not the same could be said for everything around him. While his bed appeared clean and fresh, Ponyville was in utter ruins...

The sky blood-red, the moon orange... Black lightning crackled throughout the sky as Star shivered, feeling darkness tugging at his very soul as he looked around, wide-eyed. He slowly crept out of bed, looking around the ruined room of what remained of the Inn.

**"...Look around, boy..."**

Star spun around, searching frantically for the voice. "Who's there?" he demanded, taking a few cautious steps toward the Plaza Center of Ponyville, feeling his stomach twist in knots when he realized that the fountain wasn't colored from the sky... it was actually spewing blood from the top, feathers and whole wings littered the ground and a few broken horns from what he assumed were unicorns floated through the fountain.

He turned his head away, feeling even sicker to his stomach as he tried his best not to throw up. Fillies floated face up in the small pond where Fluttershy tended to her aquatic groups, their eyes gouged out...

"...What the buck?" Star muttered, as he walked toward Twilight's Library, the leaves gone and most of the house collaspsed onto itself.

**"...See everything, child?"**

Star grit his teeth, under the assumption that this voice was going to taunt him and never reveal itself. He started running toward Derpy's house, feeling a knot form in his throat as he half-considered not going, afraid of what he would find. He swallowed hard as he shakily began up the steps, the wood creaking under his weight as if it were going to give any minute as he opened the front door slowly. It squeaked noisily open and then fell off it's hinges, clattering to the floor as he mustered his courage and walked up the stairs to Derpy's room.

**"...This world will be mine..."**

Star let out a cry of anguish as he collasped to the floor, seeing the state Derpy was in. Her wings were harshly pulled off, leaving deep bloody holes in her body and blood seeped from her mouth, her forelegs reduced to skeletal stubs. He shut his eyes tightly, refusing to believe what he was seeing. He opened his eyes again and his mouth fell open in horror. Derpy's head turned all the way around to face him, making audiable cracks as she grinned evilly, showing pointed teeth as shadows rose from her body and her eyes turned crimson.

**"You cannot stop this, boy! THIS is the world you were BORN to MAKE for ME!" **the voice cackled loudly.

"NO!" Star Spark screamed, covering his face with his hooves, sobbing uncontrollably.

He felt a warmness envelope him as a wing drapped over his back. "Shhhh..." he heard a soothing female voice, he slowly opened up his eyes, now in a grassy meadow with Princess Luna who smiled at him, tears coming to her eyes.

"P-Princesss Lu- ...M-Mom..." he said quietly, his breath hitching in his throat, he was too upset by the nightmare to be angry with her, instead seeking comfort and solace in her embrace as he hugged her close, both of them crying as they held eachother as mother and son for the first time in centuries...

"It'll be all right... we have much to discuss when you get to Canterlot." Luna comforted her son, gently stroking his mane.

* * *

><p>Star Spark opened his eyes, wiping them free from tears as he lifted his head to see everypony looking at him with mild concern. He was back on the train to Canterlot...<p>

Derpy gently stroked the bangs of his mane from his face similar to what Luna had done to him in his dream as Dinky cuddled up into his good side.

"...Did you have a nightmare? You kinda screamed a bit. Don't worry, all the scary stuff isn't real." She said gently, looking up at him with sweet innocent eyes as Star brought her close into a hug and nuzzled her, who affectionately returned the gesture.

"Y-Yeah Dinky... a-a really bad one." he said, letting the filly sit on his lap while he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-I'm sorry if I worried everypony." He grit his teeth as the movement by hugging the filly the way he did hurt his side, but it was worth it in his book.

"...Oh buck!" Star groaned. "Excuse my language but I just realized. The Festival is tomorrow!" he frowned, looking at Dinky. "I'm sorry, sweetie... But I don't know if we'll be able to go with being in Canterlot."

Dinky smiled, hugging him again and nuzzled him. "Canterlot has one going on tomorrow. If... we have the time, we can still make it to that one."

"We'll make the time." Star smiled, hugging her back and Derpy hugged them both. The others smiled, they looked like a real happy family.

Everypony decided to just let the matter of that Nightmare drop as Canterlot was coming into view, feeling it better to let the nightmare be forgotten.

And by the time they had reached the station, everypony was laughing and the nightmare was long forgotten as they gathered their things and disembarked the train. Star Spark, with Derpy and Applejack's help, slowly got off from the wheelchair, testing his right foreleg and smiled when there wasn't an ounce of pain.

"Ok, I'll bite. Zecora has my eternal thanks." Star grinned, happy that he wasn't in the wheelchair anymore.

"Be careful, that large cut is still healing." Derpy warned, keeping close to the Unicorn just in case.

"Yeah." He nodded, smiling at the others as they gathered their bags onto a cart and began leaving the station, deciding to take the scenic route really quick to further make sure that Star had forgotten the nightmare.

After a quick meal, due to not having anything since before the trip to Canterlot, Star Spark and the others took a carriage to the Castle, admiring the way the sun hit every spot just right and seemed to make everything shine beautifully. Fillies, colts, mares and stallions dotted the streets as they passed by, a few waved and others were merely too busy with their lives to give a second thought. Derpy smiled at Spark, taking his hoof in hers as he kissed his cheek.

"You nervous?" she asked him, when he tilted his head, she added: "About meeting Luna?"

"Oh... well... not really honestly, she came to me in the nightmare, getting rid of it all, I think actually." Star admitted. "We're going to talk it out once we get to the Castle."

Derpy smiled, nuzzling her coltfriend, admiring his maturity as the gates for the Castle opened, letting them inside.

* * *

><p>"AAAARGH!" Pierce yelled as he threw himself against the door over and over, but it still would not budge. All he could tell was that he was in a broomstick cuboard, that fool stallion has transported him to Celestia knows where, all he knew was that he wanted to get out of the bucking room!<p>

"Alright, one last-!" Pierce muttered, running toward the door, surprised when it opened but was unable to stop himself from running into the adjacent wall and smashed into it, groaning as he fell on his back.

"W-What the-?!" He heard a familiar voice... his own as he looked up and felt like he was looking in a mirror.

"...Oh buck." Pierce muttered, realizing he recognized every detail of the house he was in, it was his own...

"...I can explain." He said, standing up slowly and looked into the eyes of his younger self. "Trust me, you're not going insane."

His younger self continued to stare wide eyed as the older Unicorn picked up and dusted himself off. Pierce took a step toward his counterpart, who took a step back and tried his best to speak, however no words came out due to being in such shock over the whole situation.

"I'm from the future." He said probably the most cliche line ever. And his younger self frowned, glaring slightly.

"Ha-ha, I'm not that gullible. If you're me, then what happened after Rainbow Dash found out that I used Derpy?" Younger-Pierce asked.

"...Do you really want to be reminded of what happened?" Older-Pierce glared right back, the memory still leaving a sour taste in his mouth even though it was years ago from his time.

"...True enough. But how do I know that you're me from the future?" Younger-Pierce asked.

"Oh for the love of..." Older-Pierce grumbled, placing a hoof on his younger counterpart's head and filled his head with visions of the future and of his deeds in Ponyville. Giving out every single detail he could spare.

"I see." His younger self tapped his chin. "And how do we stop this future from happening?"

"...It's simple." The older Unicorn smirked evilly, shadows starting to emanate from his body and his eyes turned crimson. _**"...We kill Star Spark."**_

**A/N: Well... I'm SO sorry for the chapter being so late, work has been hell and had sapped all my motivation for writing and I've recently gotten back into the swing of things and got this done as fast as I could. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Nothing really for me to add except enjoy the chapter.**

Star Spark sighed softly as he smiled, giving Derpy a gentle kiss on the forehead and cheek as he left her room for the night. She had asked him to cuddle with her and he agreed, thankfully being able to do at least that without tearing open his stitches. He tucked Dinky in on the other side of the matress, smoothing her mane out while he flicked the light off and quietly closed the door and started to head out of the Castle to go for a walk.

For while they had gotten to the castle with enough of the day to spare, Celestia and Luna decided to let everypony rest up for the night and speak with everypony tomorrow. And at his request, Star asked for having time in the morning to take Dinky to the Festival going on and they generously allowed it. He admired the beauty of the night as he tred through the gardens. Stallion and Mare shaped hedges dotted the place and there was even a big fountain where Celestia stood tall and proud, wings spread and the water spewing out from the tip of her horn. He watched the fountain for a while, admiring all the architexture of the gardens and then started off on his walk again.

For a while, he roamed the gardens, lost in his thoughts and with no real destination in particular. He looked up at the stars, seeing every single bright dot twinkle in the night and gasped when he saw a shooting star. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and softly whispered:

_"...I wish Derpy and Dinky eternal happiness."_

He opened his eyes, smiling up at the stars and continued on his walk, coming at a stop on the cliff that overlooked Canterlot and the valley below.

"...I'll admit, I'm proud that you've grown into such a fine young stallion." He heard, his ears twitching as he kept his gaze on the city, feeling the presence of Princess Luna come to sit beside him.

"...Thank you." he said quietly.

He felt her wing drap around him and he finally mustered the strength to look at her, looking into her eyes for the first time since he had arrived at Canterlot. He bit his lip as she stared back into his own eyes and she finally blinked, opening her mouth to speak.

"I... just want you to know how sorry I am. I tried my best to instil confidence within myself by talking to Princess Cadance, but... I'm still finding it hard to just express how deeply sorry I am, Star Spark." Luna said softly.

"No... I get it... you didn't want me..." Star said, feeling slightly bitter and looked away.

"I DID want you!" Luna said, tears coming to her eyes. "B-But you must understand the situation I was in at the time!"

"Then tell me why! W-When I found out... i-it made me question if I even belong here! I-I'm not even from this bucking time!" Star said angrily, glaring feeling tears of anger and sadness spill from his own eyes.

"Because I couldn't lose you!" Luna retorted.

"Oh well you did a fine mess of doing just that since I was never raised by you!" Star shot back, making Luna recoil as if she had been stung.

"...You know full well that I was corrupted by my Nightmare Moon persona..." She looked up, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Would you have preferred to be raised by a dark magic psychopath?! I sent you to this time because you would have been given a proper home and not one made from darkness! You would have known right from wrong instead of just killing and stealing!"

Star was silent, looking down. "...I always felt out of place in Trixie's family. I felt like I was second best, they said they loved me equally, but it still felt like they favored Trixie over me... w-were they... afraid I'd follow in Nightmare Moon's hooves...?"

"No... no Star." Luna said gently, smoothing his mane like she did in his nightmare. "They loved you, truly and there was no more and no less love for you than they had for Trixie. You were loved equally, I... had the pleasure of meeting them as I gave you to them."

"But you were corrupted by Nightmare Moon..." Star looked up at her, frowning. "How did you give me to them in the first place and... who's my Dad? You didn't say anything about him in that letter..."

She smiled sadly. "...As much as I wish it were not so, your Father is no longer with us. He was a strong, proud Stallion... such virtues were his downfall. I...I blame myself for his death..." She closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. "H-He... died protecting me from King Sombra... the evil king... was the one who corrupted me, he gave me the power to act on my negative emotions..."

Star was silent as he processed this, feeling fresh tears fall silently to the grass. "So... he's never coming back, is he...?"

Luna shook her head. "...As much as I wish it, no he is not."

She gently laid her wing across his shoulders and he didn't shy away, welcoming the affection as she nuzzled him.

"And as for how I was able to send you to your foster parents. I was able to regain control for a fraction of a few minutes and I sent you away before Nightmare Moon finished taking over." Luna said gently.

"...I-I'm sorry, just... bad memories of being alone all those years after my foster parents died." He hugged her tightly, both of them letting out quiet sobs mixed of pain, sorrow and happiness. "I-I'm sorry, Mom."

"It will be all right." Luna smiled warmly, wiping his tears away as well as her own. "What's important is we have everything straightened out... right?" she asked, and he nodded with a smile.

"...If there is anything else you wish to ask me, go ahead. I will not hide anything from you, ask what you wish."

Star Spark tapped his chin in thought. "...I would like your blessing."

"For what?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

"...For the possibilty of a future marriage." Star smiled.

* * *

><p>"Nngh!" The Master grunted, having been shoved against a tree by a powerful magic. He glared at Pierce, who's magic had at least taken several levels of strength.<p>

**"Heh heh heh... Not so tough now, are you little filly?" **Pierce sneered, chuckling darkly as his eyes flashed. He was joined by his younger self, who was now wearing his older self's black hood.

The Master's eyes widened and she struggled to speak, but the aura was clenched tightly around her throat.

**"Oh, I know of your petty attempts to hide your true self, harlot." **Pierce smirked, throwing her hood down and yanked off the Alicorn amulet from her neck and watched The Master return to her true form.

He tossed her to the ground as she coughed and gasped for breath, glaring up at the two stallions. She struggled to get up, but was too weak from the attack to even stand. Older Pierce smirked, clinching the Amulet around his younger self. She lifted a hoof and watched in futilety as they teleported, leaving her alone.

"...B-Buck me." She muttered knowing she had failed, collapsing due to her drop in strength and the attack falling unconscious.

Unbeknownst to her, a Zebra Shaman had heard the commotion in the Everfree Forest clearing she was in and had arrived shortly to investigate. Without a second thought, Zecora hefted the mare onto her back and started back toward her cabin to nurse her back to health.

* * *

><p>Derpy groaned softly as she felt the empty sheets next to her and her eyes snapped open, sitting up and looked around. Dinky was sound asleep next to her but Star Spark was nowhere to be-<p>

"Morning." Lo and behold, he came through the door, carrying a large tray of breakfast food. She smiled sweetly at him as he set it down on the table next to her bed and sat next to her, he smiled back and smoothed her hair, kissing her nose.

"Sorry I didn't stay last night, I... honestly didn't want to get accused of doing anything, and I talked to my Mom." He told her, and he took her hooves in his, smiling.

"That's great." Derpy said softly, kissing his hooves. "So... are you two good now?"

"We had a long talk last night and sorted everything out." Star nodded and kissed her hooves back. "And I've got a surprise for you..."

He lifted up a bowl that had a cover over it and removed the cover, two blueberry muffins in the shape of hearts. The pegasus's wings shot up and she smiled gratefully as she took one, nibbling into it as she leaned against him. They enjoyed the moment they had for eachother as they ate in silence until Dinky woke up a few minutes later.

"...Food?" The young filly mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Star smiled, nodding and offered the plate he had made for her. "Morning, Dinky. Help yourself."

The filly yawned again before digging into her food, voicing her love for the cooking as she finished her plate in no time flat.

"...She gets her appetite from you." Derpy smiled at Star, who merely chuckled.

"More pwease!" Dinky made a cute face and Star smiled, fixing her some more food and soon afterward all the food was gone between the three of them. For a while, they stayed in the room, just enjoying the company of eachother as they talked and laughed.

"Alright alright, well... I say we should get washed up and then we'll head out to the Festival." Star announced, grinning as Dinky bounced happily.

"Yay! Thanks Daddy!" Dinky giggled, jumping up to hug him. Star's expression became uneasy for a few seconds as he looked at Derpy, who merely smiled. He smiled back at her and nodded.

"O-Okay Dinky, r-remember, Daddy has stitches." Star reminded her, hugging her back and gently set her down.

"Oh, sorry." Dinky gently pat his side and hugged him again. "Ok, me first in the bath!"

* * *

><p>"What in tarnation happened to y'all?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow as she was let into Derpy's room, only to find a completely soaked Derpy, Star and Dinky.<p>

"We had a water fight." Star replied, chuckling as he started drying himself off, Derpy and Dinky doing the same.

Applejack shook her head with a hearty chuckle. "Alrigh', well Ah was just comin' to let ya'll know that the Festival starts in a bit."

"Dinky wouldn't dare let us forget." Derpy laughed, pulling out the dress she had worn for her and Star's first date and Dinky's pink dress she wore for the Talent Show a few nights ago.

"Yeah, it'll be the first year I'll have a Daddy to take me." Dinky hopped around yet again and Applejack smiled.

"Well... Ah wish ya'll a good day and we'll see you at Celestia's Chambers later, ya hear?" The Earth Pony chuckled, and Star thanked her, heading to his own room to change. A few minutes later, the trio left the bedrooms and headed outside toward where the Festival was being held.

-An Hour Later-

"Yay! I got one!" Dinky cheered, smiling brightly as she was playing the ring toss game. After a few tries, she'd finally snagged one of the rings onto one of the bottles in the rows. Star smiled and patted her head and the little filly was awarded with three coupons to try out some new flavor of ice-cream that was made specifically for this day.

There were ring toss games, a few shooter games and even a dunking booth. And there was even a joint performance by Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich. All in all, the trio were enjoying themselves immensely.

"Alright, well I was thinking we could-" Star began, then cut himself off as he saw Twilight and Spike running toward them. "Hey, what's wro-"

"You need to come back to the castle, quick!" Twilight said, out of breath as she was frantically trying to push them toward the direction of Celestia and Luna's Castle.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down Twi. What's going on?" Star Spark asked, trying to stop her from shoving them.

"No time no time no time!" Twilight said frantically as she continued pushing them toward the Castle. "You're in danger!"

Star Spark sighed as they walked through the throne room doors, seeing Celestia, Luna, and Cadance and the rest of the Mane Six talking to a robed figure. They were also surprised greatly to see that Zecora was there as well. All of them stopped talking as the trio entered with Twilight and Spike and as the group neared the throne, the robed figure gasped and shrunk back at the sight of Derpy, Star and Dinky.

"...Um... hello?" Star said hesitantly and the robed figure's mouth fell open, as that was the only part of her that was visible from the shady hood.

"Star Spark, Derpy Hooves, everypony, while we were unable to share our visions with you just yet, our new... friend here has come forward with grave news." Celestia spoke softly and the robed figure looked at the ground.

"As you all know, while time travel is possible, it takes a great deal of magic, strength and mental concentration to perform. And this is what our friend here has done... with the Alicorn Amulet." Luna spoke up.

All the eyes fell on this new pony, who stayed silent the entire time.

"However, she has displayed a surprising amount of resistance to the Amulet, even able to control it without feeling the negative influence. But... unfortunately, it was stolen from her." Luna added, and the mare looked up, looking straight at Derpy and Star.

"I..." She said softly. "I thought I'd never see you two again..."

Derpy and Star exchanged confused looks and focused on the mare again as she slowly lifted her hood, revealing a mane similar to Star's and a coat slightly lighter than Derpy's, she opened her eyes and they were the same shade as Star's but she had Derpy's wall-eyes.

"...M-Mom... Dad..." She said softly, tears starting to fall as she looked at them, who's own eyes widened.

**A/N: ...And the plot thickens. So sorry for the long wait in the chapters, I had chapter 8 done a little bit ago but unfortunately due to no internet, AND being unable to log in due to a glitch or technical issue on Fanfiction's (I hope) part, the chapters weren't uploaded quite yet. **

**Regardless, I'm doing my best to get them out, thank you all for your patiences. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, hopefully everypony enjoyed the last chapter.**

"...What?" Derpy squeaked out, her eyes wide as she stared at the mare in front of the group.

"I-I'm from the Future." The Mare spoke softly. "My name is Diamond Sparkle." Star's ears perked up at the name. "I came back here using the Alicorn Amulet to set the Future straight."

"...You're..." Star had finally regained his voice from shock.

"Yes, I'm your daughter. You two had me after Dinky's tenth birthday." Diamond said, confirming their question. "I came back here with Pierce who-"

"Pierce?!" Derpy shrieked, her whole body shaking as she pressed herself against Star, who comfortingly held her. "Why the BUCK would you go to him for help?!" Star bit his lip, as this was the first time he'd ever heard Derpy swear.

"I was a little short on friends so who the hay was I supposed to go to for help?!" Diamond shot back, then took a deep breath and calmed down. "He proved to be senile and bent on destruction. I... I'm sorry Dad, the cut and the cart falling on you were caused by Pierce. He deluded himself and believed that I wanted to destroy Ponyville and kill the both of you."

"...Be our daughter or not, it was a fools idea to go to Pierce for help." Star glared softly, stroking Derpy to calm her down.

"He attacked me with his younger self and stole the Alicorn Amulet from me." Diamond told everypony.

"Great, is there any GOOD news?!" Star said, exasperated.

Diamond Sparkle took a deep breath and let it out, walking over to the steps to the throne and looked up at Celestia and Luna.

"It... is with great reluctance that I bring even worse news. I believe the older Pierce from my time, has been-"

She never got to finish her sentence as a large explosion shook the Castle. The Guards came running into the throne room, intent on protecting the Princesses while the courier brought news of an attack on the Castle by an unknown force. The light from outside grew dark and shadows burst through the windows, smashing the stained glass to pieces while the wisps of shadow began to twist and curl around everything it could reach, disintigrating everything it touched.

"Ah buck! What do we do?!" Star said, scooping up Dinky onto his back and Derpy huddled into his side as he tried to keep his eyes on the twisting shadows. Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, along with Luna, they suddenly snapped them open, their eyes pure light as a purple orb of energy surrounded them and kept the darkness from getting to them.

Celestia ground her teeth, both in concentration and frustration as she led the group toward the throne seats and pressed a hidden panel on the chair's underside, causing the whole platform to shift apart and reveal a stairway out of the room. "Quickly!" she said, leading everypony into the stairwell and after the platform shut, she released the spell as torches lit up to light the way downward. For a long while, they traversed down the stairwell as rumblings shook the Castle, their only way forward was becoming brighter and brighter as they neared the end. And at long last, they left the narrow passage and came into a large dome-like room that had multiple doorways.

"...The Castle has been overtaken." Celestia spoke up, her voice heavy with emotion as she cleared her throat. "We must-"

"N-Nnngh..." Star groaned, holding his side as he tried his best not to bite his tongue. There was pain searing through the cut that was almost healed up, even though he couldn't be sure, his instincts were telling him trouble was coming. "H-He's here!"

Before anypony could ask what he meant, a ball of crimson flashed into existence and disappeared, leaving Pierce and his younger self in it's wake. He laughed as he saw everypony tense up and keep their eyes on him as he took a few steps forward, causing Dinky to get behind Star for protection as Derpy held onto Star.

"...You look well, Derpy. How's life treating you?" He smirked as Star grit his teeth, blocking her from his view.

"Ah, so this is the stallion who decided to keep you around." Pierce chuckled. "Star Spark, was it? Well... I must say, I'm surprised you wanted to keep around a bucking cross-eyed harlot."

"SHUT UP!" Star and Diamond shouted in unison.

"Oh, Diamond, I did not see you." Pierce smirked, tapping the Alicorn Amulet on his younger-self's chest. "This is quite the trinket, I should-"

Pierce groaned, clutching at his head and let out a howl of pain as he snapped his head up, grinning sadistically as shadows emanated from his body and his eyes turned crimson yet again.

**"...Diamond Sparkle, I see now why you could no longer tolerate this imbecile. He speaks too much and acts so little." **Pierce's voice got deeper and more meanacing as he chuckled darkly. **"However, I will part ways by saying this: Canterlot has fallen under my hooves. Celestia... Luna... all of Equestria will be mine, just like it was many millenia ago."**

"...Equestria will NEVER be yours, Sombra." Luna said, anger laced in her voice as her horn shone with her magical aura and she fired off a beam of pure light toward the two stallions. Unfortunately, it never hit it's target, as they had teleported elsewhere.

**"...Oh my darling Luna, you will never be rid of me."** Sombra's deep chuckles echoed through the halls, fading slowly and eventually the evil presence lifted, leaving everypony tense and on edge. **"What you must realize... you've already given Equestria to me."**

Star Spark panted as the pain went away from his side and he held Derpy and Dinky close to himself, as if holding them in his arms would make everything alright.

"What do we do?" Everypony's eyes went to Celestia and Luna.

"First, we must make sure everypony has gotten to safety if they haven't already. Second, we must get the Alicorn Amulet back from the Older Pierce." Celestia cleared her throat, standing tall and proud, trying to instill confidence in everypony there.

"...I'm going after the Amulet." Star spoke up, his voice shaking slightly, causing everypony to look at him.

"I'm going with you." Derpy said, looking at him seriously.

"No, you and Dinky need to get out of Canterlot. I don't want you two-" Star began.

"There is no way that I'm going to let you go alone! I'm-" Derpy replied.

"Derpy!" Star said, his voice slightly louder than he had intended as he looked at her, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Please... just do as I say, I don't want to lose you. Please... take Dinky and get to safety, I promise I'll be back."

Derpy closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as tears fell from her own eyes as she opened them, looking at him. "...Be safe."

"You too, Der-" Star began to reply but was cut off by a deep kiss from his marefriend as she pulled back and whispered. "For luck."

Everypony else smiled softly, being quiet so as to not spoil the moment as Dinky walked up to Star Spark, taking off her golden necklace with the muffin charm. She handed it over to him and he put it around his own neck as he opened it up, realizing there were two pictures inside the trinket. There was a picture of Dinky and Derpy, and on the other side, there was the photo that was taken of them today from the festival. Derpy, Dinky and Star were all smiling as they were enjoying themselves at the festival in the picture, and it was only so long ago...

"Bring it back to me, okay Daddy?" Dinky said quietly, looking up at him with innocent, yet fearful eyes.

"I will, sweetie. Daddy promises." Star smiled, nuzzling her as he turned and took a deep breath, then suddenly stopped in front of one of the many tunnels.

"...Um... which way is out?" He asked aloud sheepishly.

"I'll show you the way." Luna spoke up, leading Star.

* * *

><p>As Luna led Star down the winding tunnel, the Unicorn was looking at the pendant that Dinky... now he felt that she was genuinely his daughter, had given him. Memories filled his head as he opened it up, gazing at the pictures.<p>

_"Would you like some flowers, Miss?" _

_Surprised, she looked up and quickly wiped her eyes again, looking into the Stallion's eyes that stood before her. She mustered a small smile._

_"Sorry, I don't have any bits with me at the moment." Derpy replied kindly, mentally cursing her shaky voice._

_"I don't charge for bouqets, Miss." The Stallion smiled. "Even if I did, I wouldn't charge such a lovely mare like yourself."_

_Derpy felt in embarrassment as her face heated up and she tapped her hooves together nervously. "T-T-Thank you..." She said, rivalling Fluttershy at the moment in terms of voice pitch._

_The Stallion smiled, closing his eyes as he concentrated, his horn began to glow with a soft blue light. In a small flash of cyan, a bouqet of roses, lilies and daises appeared, wrapped in light pink paper and tied with a scarlet ribbon. "Well well, lucky day for you, Miss. You have just received the special bouqet of the night and have won three free tickets to tomorrows Magic Show."_

_"...T-Thank you so much, Mr...?" Derpy accepted the flowers with the biggest smile she had given all day, sniffing them as she looked at the newly acquired tickets._

_"Star Spark, Madam." The Stallion took a small bow, smilng. "And to whom do I have the pleasure of talking to?"_

_"...D-Derpy. I'm Derpy Hooves." The pegasus replied, blushing cursing her stutter._

_"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hooves." Star Spark smiled widely._

_"Just Derpy, please." The mare replied._

* * *

><p><em>"Derpy, what's wrong?" Star Spark asked in confusion, wondering what he had said wrong.<em>

_"I-I must go! I'm sorry!" Derpy spread her wings, choking back a sob as she took flight, rivalling Rainbow Dash due to how fast she disappeared, leaving Star behind hurt and confused._

_"...What did I say wrong?" he asked aloud, feeling heartbroken._

_"Sparky!" She shouted over the howl of the wind passing by her ears as she tackled him to the ground in a hug, nuzzling him as he lay there, dazed with the pegasus on top of him. _

_"Ah... wha...? The cat's got it with the salad... th... french toast..." Star Spark spoke gibberish for a few moments as he tried to make sense of up and down. He sat up, rubbing his head as he looked down at the gray pegasus and smiled as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry I ran off... I'm so sorry." She said to him as she refused to let go, nuzzling into him as tears threatened to spill again, Star affectionately returned the nuzzles as their friends exchanged smiles and 'Aww's._

* * *

><p><em>"Derpy... I wish I could have met you long ago. I would have done everything in my power to keep people from making fun of my marefriend." He said truthfully, and Derpy smiled, even while fresh tears of happiness crawled down her cheeks. "Derps... I know... that I said I want to take this slow... but... I honestly believe I'm falling even harder for you."<em>

_"S-Star..." Derpy said quietly, nuzzling him gently. "T-Thank you... no stallion has ever treated me this kindly, well... except the Doc and Mac."_

_Star smiled and was completely caught off guard as Derpy wrapped her hooves around him, having what some pegasi referred to as a 'wing boner', eyes closed and she kissed him full on the lips. A blush engulfed both of their cheeks as he slowly closed his eyes as well and kissed her back. It was short, but sweet and slightly more passionate than Derpy had originally intended however she didn't mind one bit, she pulled back slowly, tears that were a mixture of sadness and happiness fell from her eyes as she whimpered slightly._

_"S-Star..." She said quietly, her voice breaking. "You've changed my world... Dinky adores you... I've never been this happy with a stallion... please please please don't ever leave me... I can't bear it if we were to ever separate... Please, Star." She emphasised each 'Please' with a quick peck on the lips._

_"Derpy... I promise, I won't ever leave you. Not now... not ever." Star replied truthfully. "In fact... I was considering remaining in Ponyville to live near you. Now... I know I'm staying."_

* * *

><p>Star smiled softly as tears of happiness fell from his eyes at those fond memories. He started when Luna cleared her throat and it was only then that he noticed he'd stopped walking, as she was a few feet ahead of him, looking back at him before walking to him.<p>

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, noticing his tears.

"Just remembering." He told her truthfully, smiling. "No matter how this ends, I just want one thing to be clear. I'm going to be a better father for Dinky. I-I'm in love with Derpy and I want nothing more than to give her the happy life she so rightfully deserves after everything she's been through."

He looked into his Mother's eyes. "You can't just wish for everything to be better, you have to make an effort. And I'm sure as hay going to make sure that everything will be alright for my future family."

At Luna's expression, he added. "What I'm getting at, is I'm going to stop all of this and set everything right. No. Matter. What."

**A/N: I am SO sorry for the long long wait. I hate to blame work but... y'know, that. And also as I mentioned before, it is one thing to get an idea in your head, but it is an entirely different thing to actually put all you're planning into words. I had a tough time getting everything just the way I wanted it. Hope you enjoyed this chap~**

**Also, on another note, I have already written the final battle. So... it's just a matter of filling in the blanks. **


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